Atlantis
by SilverTrain
Summary: RusAme, In that order. Based off of the Disney movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire. An ancient civilization awaits the young linguist Alfred F. Jones, and he is determined to discover it after it had sunk beneath the waves. Little does he know what awaits.
1. Prolouge  Sinking

This is my first story! So please be gentle with me. I do accept CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. And please tell me if you spot any spelling mistakes or whatever.

I don't own anything! So please don't sue me! I'm fairly certain that Hetalia and Disney would be much worse if I were in charge.

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><p><strong>Atlantis<strong>

The Lost Empire

_"... In a single day and night of misfortune,_

_the island of Atlantis disappeared_

_into the depths of the sea."_

_- Plato, 360 B.C._

A great, roaring tidal wave of epic proportions stampeded forward like a herd of wild elephants over the entire landscape, swallowing the small towns and villages doting the rolling countryside of the vast island. Sentries on flying machines were moving as fast as they could to both escape the destruction, and to warn their home city.

"We have to warn the city of Atlantis! The wave is fast approaching!" One of the men cried. They weaved through orange-red canyons and flew towards the city in the distance, which was home to beautiful white marble spires in the central district, with many intricate aqueducts and pathways. The beautiful city used water themes everywhere they could, and created quite a calming and wonderful effect. But the wave and a massive storm was hovering over the horizon, and many citizens where in a state of panic. The wave's massive shadow was already starting to descend upon the utopia, the wave moving fast like a monster, dark clouds accompanying it forebodingly. There was a large and particularly luminous ice blue crystal that floated above the city. As the wave grew closer, it turned crimson and shined beams of light down upon the city like search lights, as if trying to find something or someone.

The guards at the warning towers all struck the large steel bells with their mallets, and through the announcement system, the people could hear the guards telling them to head for shelters. In the central structures of the city, people were frantic and running, and among them were one young woman, a young preteen, and a small girl. A guard was ushering them on.

"Your highness, please! This way!" He told the eldest. She was fair skinned and had short, pale blonde hair like her two other siblings, and a well endowed chest. Her watery blue eyes were shining with unshed tears. Her younger brother was just as tall as she was, even though he was a few years younger, and his more childish looking face was also showing mild panic, his violet eyes darting everywhere, his hair short and slightly curly, and wearing a scarf he held dearly. It was clearly hand knit and very special to him by the way he clutched to it. The youngest sibling was clinging tightly to the boy's long robes with a death-grip. Her eyes a darker shade of purple than her brothers and they were intently fixated on him, as to never let him from her sight, and her long, straight hair flowed behind her.

Suddenly, one of the red beams lighted on the eldest, and it turned back into blue. She could not resist the call of the crystal, and turned toward it. All of the citizens of Atlantis wore a necklace with a piece of the great crystal attached to it. Her eyes started to glow the same color as the great crystal, and the crystal around her neck floated up and started to tug upwards toward the source of the light, straining against the cord that bound it to the young woman's neck. All of the search beams then came back to merge into one and shown on her, and her crystal suddenly started to glow with a radiant light. It was then that she started to float upwards along the shaft of light, towards the great crystal.

"Kat?" Her brother asked softly, in a worried voice, "Katyusha! Katyusha!" His voice got louder as she ascended higher, and their little sister started to cry and hold on to her brother tighter, as if fearing he would be next. As their sister merged with the crystal, a dome-like shield of light enveloped the central district of Atlantis, forming an impenetrable barrier all around it. The waves tore through the outer layers of the city, instantly tearing apart buildings that it hit, sending them crumbling to pieces. The boy forced his little sister to look away from the light as it swallowed their elder sister, it's light bright and blinding. Tears slid down his face as he clutched his little sister close. The whole district started to sink into the earth as the wave enveloped the shield, and the whole central district of the city sunk with bright lights and flashes of lightning. And then, just like that, there was nothing left of the city on the surface, the water subsiding into the stillness of a vast ocean.

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><p>That's the introduction for you! I hope you enjoyed! Please review! I'll love you forever. *waggles eyebrows* Tell me how I did and what you liked.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1  Proposal

First chapter! Now, we get to meet our young and ambitious Alfred! Who, I also don't own. Sadly. Please enjoy!

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><p><em>Chapter One - Washington D.C., 2000<em>

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," A clear, honest voice rang out in one of the rooms in the Smithsonian Institution of D.C. The room was dimly lit, the only light focused on a tall, slender but muscular young man. The light illuminated his blond hair like a halo, one stubborn piece sticking up defiantly, and brightened his shining blue eyes which clearly showed his excitement in their depths behind bright red framed glasses, "Now, I believe that we've all heard the legend of Atlantis, a continent somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, which was home to an advanced civilization possessing technology far beyond our own. According to Plato here," He gestures enthusiastically to a stone bust of said philosopher, "a great cataclysmic event sunk the civilization down at the bottom of the ocean. Now, some of you may ask, why Atlantis? It's just a myth isn't it? Pure fantasy! Well that, is where you'd be wrong.

"Ten thousand years before the Egyptians built the pyramids, Atlantis had electricity, advanced medicine, even the power of flight!" The young man's voice started to rise with his excitement, "'Impossible,' you say! Well no, not for them! Numerous ancient cultures all over the globe agree that Atlantis possessed a power source of some kind, more powerful than steam, coal, or oil! More powerful than our modern engines. Gentlemen! I propose that we find Atlantis, find that power source, and bring it back to the surface. Now, this," he pulled out a large card, which he held up in front of himself, "is an illuminated text that describes a book called 'The Shepherd's Journal', said to have been a first had account of Atlantis and it's exact whereabouts. Now based on a centuries old translation of a Norse text," he again gestured to something, which was Norse writing that he had on a large chalk board behind him, which was the kind that was on wheels and that you could flip the chalkboard to show its back, which was another chalkboard, by turning it up or down. Underneath the Norse text was the translation 'Coast of Ireland' in English, "historians believed that the Journal resided in Ireland. But after comparing the text to the runes on this Viking shield," the young man's voice became strained and labored as he picked up a heavy stone shield, "I found that one of the letters had been mistranslated. So," the man paused to flap his arm to grab the long sleeve of his shirt and erase the 'r' in Ireland, with some struggle as he had to balance the heavy shield in one hand, "By changing this letter and inserting the correct one, we find that The Shepherd's Journal, the key to Atlantis lies not in Ireland, gentlemen, but," he now adds a 'c' to where the 'r' used to be, "in Iceland." He pauses then looking around eagerly, setting the large shield back down onto the floor. "I will take your questions now!" He says while rolling up his dress shirt sleeves.

His baby-blue tie was now quite rumpled from the strenuous activity of lifting the old Viking shield, and his argyle white and grey sweater-vest was wrinkled. Then, the phone in his room started to ring.

"Uh, gentlemen, could you, uh, excuse me for a moment?" He swiveled the chalkboard back so that he could lay on top of it to reach his desk and phone which were situated behind it.

"Cartography and Linguistics, Alfred F. Jones speaking," Alfred said in a somewhat proud voice. His face fell though, as there was only some complaining coming from the other end. "Uh, uhuh, yeah... just a second..." He sighed, sliding off of the chalkboard and staining chalk on his black slacks, before flipping the switch to turn on the lights in his room. He was alone, and many of his artifacts and busts were arranged in an audience formation to look like people. His room was cluttered with all sorts of things from books and papers to artifacts and paintings. He strolled over to the old boiler that rested in the corner of his room. It was massive, black and looking quite imposing. With a bored expression, he turned its valves and took a heavy wrench and smacked the thing. He quickly leapt onto his chalkboard and picked up his phone once more.

"Yeah, how's that? Is that better?" he asked, "... Yeah, you're welcome..." He sighed heavily. Suddenly, the clock on his table rang an alarm.

"Ah! Show time," He exclaimed, some of his eagerness and joy returning. He grabbed some of his notes and books. "Well, this is it," he spoke to himself, "I am finally getting out of the dungeon." Alfred was simply a free spirit, and being shoved into one of the back rooms of the Institution just didn't suit him at all. Alfred was energetic and lively, never sitting still. He had an avid passion for science, and he loved space most of all. But because of his grandfather, he had decided to pursue uncovering the lost civilization of Atlantis, because it was his grandfather's dream. His face softened into a warm smile as he approached a small shrine by the small staircase leading out of his room. He picked a framed picture that was in front of it, that was a photograph of a younger Alfred smiling brightly beside a much older man. Alfred ran his fingers over the photo, remembering small memories. He picked up an old bomber jacket hanging beside the shrine on a coat rack. It was patched with all sorts of patriotic things and symbols from the armed forces. His grandfather had handed it down to him when he was a young teen, right before he died. He always had loved his grandfather's stories about the wars that he fought in, just as much as the stories he told about his expeditions. He put the thing on, loving the soft feel of the old leather. It's smell was heaven to Alfred.

A loud 'thunk' sounded in the room as a message came down the mail chute that connected his room to the ground floor, startling Alfred from his daze. It was similar to chutes that you would find at a bank. Alfred quizzically opened the container that held the message and began to read, "Dear Mr. Jones, this is to inform you that your meeting today has been moved up from 4:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m." Alfred quickly looked over to the clock on his wall, which indicated the time was a few minutes after 4 o'clock.

"What?" He exclaimed. Another message popped down from the chute, and Alfred gathered the container up and took out the message inside, reading it quickly.

"Dear Mr. Jones, due to your absence the board has moved to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend, Mr. Harcourt's office. THEY CAN'T FUCKING DO THIS TO ME!" Alfred shouted in frustration. Out in another hallway, the board members were just walking out from their meetings and getting ready to leave for the day.

"I swear that young Jones gets crazier every year!" One of the stuffy old men exclaimed, pulling on his coat.

"If I ever hear the word 'Atlantis' again, I'll step in front of a bus!" Another said.

"I'll push you!" Another concurred. They all started to laugh, but as soon as they saw Alfred barreling down the hallway, shouting "MR. HARCOURT!" they all dissolved from laughing into exclamations of horror, such as "Good Lord, there he is!" and "How the hell did he find us?" They all scrambled to get away from him, running down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"GET BACK HERE!" Alfred stampeded after them. Mr. Harcourt quickly exited, Alfred hot on his heels, following him through the halls, out into the lobby and outside into the street, where Mr. Harcourt's taxi was waiting for him. He quickly jumped into the car and shut the door behind him. Alfred ran into the side of the car and continued to talk through the open backseat window where Mr. Harcourt was seated.

"Can't you just hear me out? I know where the Shepherd's Journal is, I'm sure of it this time!"

"This museum funds scientific expositions based on FACTS, not legends and folk lore. Besides, we need you here. We depend on you," Mr. Harcourt said, his last sentence in a fake sweet tone.

"Y-you do?" Alfred stammered, caught off guard. He liked it when people said they depended on him. Loved it, in fact. He loved the feeling of accomplishment and the heroism of being the one everyone looked to when they had problems.

"Yes! What with winter coming, that boiler is going to need a lot of attention. STEP ON IT!" Mr. Harcourt roared at the end of his fast-spoken sentence, and the taxi's tires started to squeal.

"WHAT!" Alfred exclaimed angrily, "BOILER?" He then ran after the taxi and jumped on the hood before it could gain enough speed to get ahead of him.

"That's IT! If you don't fund my proposal then I'm going to QUIT! Here," He quickly pulled out a piece of paper and smacked it onto the windshield, "is my letter of resignation!" The driver swerved swiftly and Alfred slid off the car and landed hard on the pavement below. "I MEAN IT!" He shouted after the car. It stopped suddenly and backed up to where Alfred was sitting on the street. Mr. Harcourt stuck out his fat head from the backseat's open window to peer down at Alfred.

"And then what, flush your career down the toilet like your grandfather? You have a lot of potential, son, don't throw it all away chasing fairy-tales," he spoke.

"But, I can prove Atlantis exists!" Alfred argued, a half whining tone creeping into his voice.

"You wanna go on an expedition? Here," Mr. Harcourt said, throwing some change to Alfred, "take a trolley to the Potomac and jump in! Maybe the cold water will clear your head!" And with that, Mr. Harcourt signaled the taxi to go, and they sped off down the street. Alfred sighed heavily, getting up to make the long trip back to his apartment. He looked up and sighed as the clouds started to darken, and the first sprinklings of rain were falling.

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><p>A bit longer than before, yes? I'm getting there! It's building up! Please review!<p> 


	3. Chapter 2 Journal

So! Now we have the next installment to our little series here! I'm so excited. I hope you enjoy it! I own nothing~!

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><p><em>Chapter Two<em>

Alfred unlocked his apartment door and trudged in.

"Americat? Here kitty, kitty," he called out. By the time he had reached his apartment, a storm had already descended upon D.C. and he was drenched from the rain. It was late out, and his apartment was dark. He made his way inside, dumping his overcoat on the floor without care, and reached forward to the lamp to turn it on. When he pulled the chain, however, it only clicked ominously, and the light didn't come on. It was storming out, but not enough, Alfred thought, for the power to have gone out. One of his blinds were open, casting a faint light from the window and a bright light when lightning struck.

"Alfred F. Jones?" A sultry voice called out. A sultry, distinctly male voice... Alfred was torn between throwing up his lunch or laughing his ass off. The lightning flashed and Alfred could see a man with wavy, blond hair that came to his chin, light blue eyes that regarded Alfred's soaking form hungrily and some light stubble on his chin. He was wearing a royal blue shirt and cape, with black slacks. Alfred's eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh, who are you? How the hell did you get in here?" He asked.

"Why, I came down ze chimney. Hon hon HON," at the end of the sentence, the man sat down provocatively on Alfred's loveseat. Alfred felt the need to throw up hit himself once more, and was again torn between doing that and just pointing and laughing. Or staring in pure horror and disgust. Alfred, being a linguist, could tell that the man had a French accent.

"My name is Francis Bonnefoy," the man continued, "and I am acting on ze behalf of my employer who has a most intriguing proposition for you. Are you interested? "

"Your employer...? Who is your employer?" Alfred asked incredulously. And one moment, he was standing there, looking at a flamboyant Frenchman, and the next, he had been whisked away out into the street, into a black limo that was awaiting the two of them, and then arriving at the black iron gates that opened to allow the limo to ride up to an extensive and elaborate mansion that was situated far away from society. Alfred looked around in awe, noticing the large plaque on the brick wall connecting to the gate reading "Whitmore". They drove over a stone bridge to arrive at the mansion, and Francis hurried Alfred inside, where a servant took their coats. Alfred took off his overcoat, but declined the servant taking his bomber jacket, which he had worn underneath.

"This way, s'il te plaît, Monsieur Whitmore doesn't like to be kept waiting." Francis motioned to Alfred, leading him into an elevator. Alfred stepped into it, warily eying Francis incase he tried something.

"Now, you will eizer address him as Monsieur or Sir, you will stand unless asked to be seated, and you will keep your sentences short and to ze point, d'accord?" Francis elaborated, eying Alfred's clothes critically. Alfred nodded and gulped. The elevator moved downward one floor and then stopped and the doors opened to a large and greatly decorated room, full of paintings, plants and assortments of tables and furniture. There was a large fireplace, a bright flame already roaring, and on the left wall there was a large window that allowed a view into an aquarium sized tank filled with all manner of sea creatures. Alfred could only stare in awe.

"Relax, Monsieur Whitmore doesn't bite... often..." Francis said the last world teasingly and heavily, and then took the elevator back up. Alfred moved across the room, looking around with curiosity. As he neared the fireplace, he noticed the large painting above it, showing his grandpa shaking hands with a man that looked equally as old as he. Alfred's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Grandpa?" He spoke aloud.

"Finest explorer I've ever met," came a voice from beside him. Alfred looked to see an older man doing yoga exercises. He looked like he was made of leather, for he had a very pronounced tan, and it made his white hair and beard stand out even more. He wore nothing but a simple blue bath robe.

"Preston Whitmore, pleasure to meet you, Alfred," he continued, and held out his hand, which Alfred shook immediately.

"You really knew my grandfather?" Alfred asked in wonder.

"Oh yeah! Met old Theodore back in Georgetown. We stayed close friends 'til the end of his days. He'd drive me along on some of his damn fool expeditions. Jones was crazy as a fruit bat he was. Spoke of you often!" Alfred blinked.

"Oh, uh... really? He never mentioned you..." Alfred said with about as much tact as he could, which was about zero. His statement, therefore, was a tad blunt.

"Oh, he wouldn't. He knew how much I liked my privacy! I keep a low profile."

"Mr. Whitmore, is there a reason I'm here?" Again with Alfred's beautiful example of tact.

"Over there, on that table," Whitmore gestured. Alfred walked up to the small coffee table and picked up the package, "That's for you."

"It's... from my grandfather?"

"Told me I should give it to you when you were ready, whatever that means." Alfred tore away the brown paper wrapping and his eyes widened as he beheld the book inside.

"It..." He gasped, "It can't be..." Alfred adjusted his glasses, looking closely at the book in his hands. It was leather bound, with steel engravings upon it. "This is... it's the Shepherd's Journal! Mr. Whitmore, this Journal is the key to finding the lost city of Atlantis!" Alfred's shock was the only thing keeping his excitement from making his voice get incredibly loud and excitable. For now, it was soft, but the eagerness seeped through it quite easily.

"Atlantis," the old man chuckled, "wasn't born yesterday, son." He stepped behind a divider then and proceeded to get dressed in a white suit.

"But, look at this! There are coordinates... clues... it's all here!" Alfred's voice was now starting to rise.

"Looks like complete gibberish to me!" Whitmore stated as he dressed.

"Well, that's because it's written in a dialect that no longer exists," Alfred explained.

"So it's useless." Whitmore said.

"Nah, just difficult. I've spent my whole life studying dead languages, it's not gibberish to me," Alfred replied, flipping through the book.

"Ah, it's probably a fake," Whitmore stated nonchalantly, adjusting the cuffs of his suit as he stepped from behind the divider. Alfred closed the book roughly, making a loud thumping noise.

"Mr. Whitmore," he said tersely, "my grandfather would have KNOWN if this were a fake, I would know! I will stake everything I own, everything I believe in that this is the genuine Shepherd's Journal!"

"Alright, alright, so. What do you want to do with it?" Mr. Whitmore asked, blunt and to the point, sitting at a table beside the large aquarium window.

"I.. I'll get funding! I mean, the museum..."

"They'll never believe you."

"I'll show them! I'll make them believe!"

"Like you did today."

"Yes! Wait, no! Ugh, how did you.. FORGET ABOUT THAT! Never mind! I'll find Atlantis on my own! Even if I have to rent a rowboat!" Alfred exclaimed heatedly, flailing his arms about wildly as he talked. Mr. Whitmore smirked.

"Congratulations, Alfred. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. But forget the rowboat son," he said while pressing a button in a hidden compartment of the table, "we'll travel in style." Small scale models of submarines and other various other vehicles rose up from inside the table.

"It's all been arranged, the whole ball of wax!"

"Why...?" Alfred whispered in awe and incredulousness.

"For years old Theodore would bend my ear with stories about that old book and I didn't buy it for a minute. So one day I'd had enough of it, and made a bet with the old coot. I said, 'Jones, if you ever actually found that so-called Journal not only while I finance the expedition, but I'll kiss you full on the mouth. And to my embarrassment when he found the darn thing..." Whitmore grumbled, trailing off. He sighed then.

"Now, I know your grandfather's gone, Alfred, God rest his soul, but Preston Whitmore is a man who keeps his word! You hear that Jones? I'm going to the afterlife with a clear conscience by thunder!" He shouted waving his stick and the painting above the fireplace of him and Theodore Jones. He sighed then, putting his cane back on the ground and staring at the fire. Alfred tilted his head a little to the side as he regarded Mr. Whitmore.

"Your grandpa was a great man. You probably don't even realize how great. Those buffoons at the museum, dragged him down. Made a laughing stock out of him. He died a broken man... If I could bring back just one shred of proof, that'd be enough for me. Ah... Jones..." He took a long breath of air, "Well! What are we standing around for! We got work to do!" Whitmore exclaimed driving forward, not even really needing his cane.

"But, Mr. Whitmore, in order to do what you're proposing to do, you're going to need a crew!"

"Taken care of. Got 'em all. Best of the best. Matthew Williams, expert in geology and excavation. Feliciano Vargas, expert in demolition. Busted him out of a prison in Spain. Arthur Kirkland, don't let his looks fool you, he's tough as nails and an expert mechanic. Ludwig Beilschmidt, best medical practitioner I've ever met. I believe you've met Francis Bonnefoy, our cook." Alfred shuddered at the mention of the Frenchman. Whitmore smiled at him. "All we need now is an expert in gibberish. So, it's decision time. You can build on the foundation your grandfather left you, or you can go back to your boiler room." Alfred sighed heavily, flopping into the one of the chairs near the table.

"This... this is all for real," Alfred spoke, mostly to himself. Mr. Whitmore nodded.

"Now you're catching on," He said, pointing his cane at Alfred.

"O-ok, let's see, uh, I'll have to quit my job," Alfred stumbled, trying to get his thoughts in order.

"It's done. You resigned this afternoon."

"I did?"

"Yup, don't like to leave loose ends."

"Uh, my apartment! I'm going to have to give notice."

"Taken care of."

"My clothes?" Alfred asked, counting on his fingers as he listed off things.

"Packed." Mr. Whitmore replied.

"My books?"

"In storage."

"My cat?" There was a loud meow and Alfred looked down to see Americat looking up at him from the floor. He purred and rubbed himself on Alfred's pants deviously, trying to rub and shed his hair all over Alfred. Alfred picked him up and started to pet him, which pleased the cat greatly.

"My gosh..." Alfred whispered. This man was like... Alfred didn't even know how to describe him. Like Batman and his butler Alfred or something! It was so amazing.

"Your grandfather had a saying," Whitmore said, standing up and taking the book lying on the table, "Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children." He handed the Journal back to Alfred. Americat jumped out of his arms and proceeded to walk off to who knows where, just doing whatever he wanted.

"This book is his gift to you, Alfred. Atlantis is waiting..." Mr. Whitmore picked up his coat to put it on. Alfred was sitting on the chair like a tightly wound coil as his excitement started to reach its peak level. As soon as it passed the red line, Alfred sprung up from the chair, his energy no longer containable.

"I'm your man Mr. Whitmore! You will not regret this! I-I-I'm so excited I can't even hold it in!"

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><p>And that is the second chapter, my friends! I hoped that you enjoyed. Please review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 3 Embarking

Alright guys! Next chapter! Alfred meets his new teammates! Who I do not own. Enjoy! And to those who have reviewed already, they are greatly appreciated! It gets me so excited to read them, and then I want to get to work on the next chapter right away! And thank you to all those who've favorited or alerted this story! It makes me happy.

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><p><em>Chapter Three<em>

Alfred doubled over the side of the ship, puking his brains out, gripping his red framed glasses as to not lose them into the water below. He loved riding horses, being one of the best when he had volunteered to work at a ranch when he was in high school and he got an exhilarating thrill driving an aircraft, being drawn to it ever since the first time his grandfather had taken him for a ride in his plane when Alfred was young and getting his piloting license at the first chance he could, but he hated traveling on boats. Absolutely hated it. He gripped his bomber jacket tighter around him, covering his totally cool superman shirt as he heaved over the rail, careful not to get any on himself. He didn't really wanna have throw up on him when he finally met the other members of the crew. He stared down at his cowboy boots, thinking of how he had gotten here. The first thing Mr. Whitmore had done after Alfred had agreed to do this expedition, they had boarded this massive grey and blue ship, with all the crew and sailors and submarine people and who else Alfred didn't even know or want to think about. All of the equipment, the vehicles, the submarine, and all that stuff were here on this ship and being loaded up and getting ready to dive. Alfred studied the pattern in his denim jeans to take his mind off of the rocking of the ship and the waves tossing his stomach around.

"All hands to the launch bay," a voice over the intercom announced. Alfred heaved his medium sized bag of clothes and things over his shoulder. His most personal items where there, while everything else had been put in storage. Alfred could only gaze in amazement as he looked around the large launch bay area. People were all moving about and transporting things onto the submarine such as vehicles and large crates filled with things Alfred could only guess at. He was so busy looking around that he accidentally bumped into someone else in front of him. He was going to apologize, but he was shocked to see who it was.

"Oh, it's you!" The man turned to him and smirked.

"Oh, Monsieur Jones. How very nice it is to see you again," Francis replied blue eyes glinting and looking Alfred up and down. It greatly agitated Alfred. The man was dressed in much the same way he had been before, with his royal blue shirt-cloak combo and black gloves, and dark pants, stuffed into black boots.

"HEY FROG!" Someone shouted out. He was riding on a lift that looked to have barrels and crates labeled with things like 'Sugar' and 'Non-perishables' and such. There were also crates marked with names of tools and other such things. The man stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, piercing green eyes glaring from under large bushes that could have been eyebrows. His hair was a sandy-blond color, and he wore a white button up shirt with grey work pants with utility belts strapped around his waist, brown work gloves on, and black steel toed boots. Francis turned at the voice and his smirk only widened as he shrugged his shoulders, as if the man's irritability couldn't be helped.

"Ah, what is it mon anglais ami?" He said sweetly.

"Your foodstuffs have been crowded over into MY shipments, and are keeping my supplies from getting on board! I hardly think that all of these non-essential, gourmet food things take more priority than the tools that keep this machine running! We're not on a cruise, we don't need all of this!" Francis 'tsk'ed at the British sounding man, shaking his head.

"Ah, but even on an expedition such as this, we should be able to eat well and healthy, non? But I already know zat cooking and other such things are beyond you, so why not leave it to ze expert, oui?" Francis rattled off, not even batting and eye. The British man only got red in the face with anger, and started to scramble off of the lift in order to jump at the Frenchman to strangle him.

"You wait until I get my hands on you, you snail-sucking frog-eater!" he shouted. Suddenly, an alarm started to go off. The speakers blared to life, as the announcer talked through them.

"Attention, all hands to the launch bay. Final loading in progress." Alfred immediately left the two fighting blonds and started to line up with the other sailors, stepping onto a lift which started to carry them downward, to the next level under, where the submarine was sitting on the launch doors that would eventually release it down into the water. Men and women were scrambling around here as well, docking and boarding the sub, as well as carrying things onboard. As Alfred was walking toward it, he was bumped from behind. He looked back to see a sort of ditzy looking brunet looking back at him worriedly, as well as large crates of explosives that he was wheeling around in on his gurney. They were packed up so high, that Alfred suspected the man didn't even see Alfred and had bumped into him. He was wearing a white shirt with a beige military style jacket, and beige pants with black boots. His hair had a very peculiar strand that stuck out way to the side and curled.

"Oh, ve~! I'm sorry! I didn't even see you there!" The man apologized and started to move around Alfred. Alfred eyed a red stick on the ground and picked it up.

"Hey, wait! You dropped your dynamite!" He called out to the man. He turned to Alfred again, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Oh, thank you!" he exclaimed.

"Uh, what all exactly do you have in there, anyways?" Alfred asked. The brunet blinked before adopting a thoughtful expression, which only looked like he was daydreaming, really.

"Well, let me thing, I have... dynamite, of course, gunpowder... Nitroglycerin.. Oh! Notepads! And, fuses... uh... wicks, glue... and... uh... Paperclips! Big ones! You know, just office supplies~!" He explained cheerily, flailing his arms at some points in his speech. Alfred nodded, and the happy brunet continued pushing his hazardous supplies. 'Is that guy really qualified to handle that stuff?' Alfred thought to himself.

"Alfred!" A familiar voice called out. It was Mr. Whitmore, "Where you been?" He was standing next to a tall, rather stone faced and intimidating man. He wore no expression on his face, and his eyes looked eerie and cold. "I would like you to meet Commander Winter. He led the Iceland team that brought the Journal back."

"Ah, Alfred Jones," the man said in a strong deep voice. The man looked older, and his skin was pale, his hair and beard white, but he had an aura of strength about him, that commanded respect and maybe even fear. His eyes were very pale, and to Alfred looked silver or grey. He wore a very sharp military suit that looked as though every single fiber were in exactly the right place. The man looked like he didn't tolerate anything but perfection.

"It is a pleasure to meet the grandson of Theodore," He continued, "And I see you have the Journal as well." There was practically no emotion to his voice and was borderline monotone. The man sent chills down Alfred's spine. Mr. Whitmore elbowed Alfred.

"Pretty impressive, eh?" he asked, talking about everything that had been organized.

"When you settle a bet, you really settle a bet!" Alfred said, not in the least bit put off by Winter's presence as long as he had a distraction to keep him in character. His eyes remained bright and defiant as he looked about the place once more.

"Well, your granddad believed that you could never put a price on the pursuit of knowledge," Mr. Whitmore explained.

"Believe me, this will be small changed compared to the value of what we're gonna learn on this trip!" Alfred replied excitedly. The sights had overwhelmed him before, but with the newfound eagerness for the finding of Atlantis, his old energy and radiance started to return. The speakers blared to life once more.

"Attention all personnel, launce will commence in fifteen minutes."

"Mr. Whitmore," Winter said, indicating he was taking his leave. He turned just as Whitmore replied with a wave and made his way into the submarine via the platforms that lined the entrances to the sub.

"By Mr. Whitmore!" Alfred called as he hurried to follow Winter into the submarine.

"Make us proud, boy!" He called back to the eager young man as the steel doors to the submarine shut closed heavily. Winter made his way to the bridge area as all of the personnel locked down the ship in preparation for diving.

"Lieutenant, take her down," he spoke to one of the men.

"Diving Officers, submerge the ship," he gave the command, and a whole chain reaction occurred, with all of the sailors working together to release the ship and take her down into the water as it was let loose from the main ship. It then descended into the ocean, and Alfred could only stare in amazement through the large, thick Plexiglas windows of the bridge that surrounded the large room like a sphere. After much map-consulting and getting lost, Alfred made his way from the bridge and to the living quarters, where he stumbled into the small room that he was assigned to. There was a bunk bed type fixture into the right wall, so Alfred guessed that he shared the room with someone else. There were shelves on the left that held other supplies and random things, and some coat hangers hung from pipes in the room. Alfred recognized a figure was standing in the small room, and he gulped as he recognized him as the short irritable Britain from before that was arguing with Francis. Alfred had hoped that maybe he could avoid the man, as not to get targeted by the Brit's temper. The man slowly turned around as he heard Alfred enter. His frown seemed to deepen as he regarded the taller blond.

"And who are you?" he asked somewhat bluntly and slightly rude.

"I'm Alfred," Alfred quickly replied, "Alfred F. Jones." The man's eyes narrowed.

"Arthur Kirkland. I'm the chief mechanic on this ship. And if you are Alfred then you must be the uh, linguist." Arthur held out his hand to shake, and Alfred took it a bit warily. Then, another man appeared in the doorway. He was very built, with pale blond hair, and a very strong face with pale blue eyes. He wore a sleeveless undershirt and black military pants and boots. Dog tags hung from his neck, the metal glinting off of the lights, and he had on a fanny pack and held a medical back in his right hand. Arthur regarded the man calmly.

"Ah, you the linguist, I presume?" The man asked, a heavy German accent prevalent on his words.

"Yeah. Alfred F. Jones." The two shook hands. Meanwhile, Arthur exited the room.

"Do not mind him, he just likes to see things getting done. I do not blame him. I myself enjoy organization as well," the German stated, "I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt, a military surgeon." Ludwig moved to the back of the room and set his back down, opening it and running a supply check, making sure everything was there. He pulled out a various assortment of things, like syringes, tape, bandages, and the like. As he pulled out a short medical saw, Alfred's eyes widened.

"Whoa," Alfred exclaimed.

"Hmm, yes... the catalog said that it could cut through a femur in 28 seconds..." Ludwig said, eying the saw very critically, "Well, we will see about that..." he trailed off. Alfred gulped.

"Will Alfred Jones please report to the bridge?" The intercom suddenly spoke. Alfred took this chance to escape while he still could.

"Yeah, well, nice meeting you, uh, Ludwig. I gotta run!" Alfred explained and quickly exited the room, making his way back to the bridge. As Alfred entered the bridge one of the shipmates reported, "We're reaching coordinates, sir!" There was lots of chatter going around as the sailors worked their shifts and monitored their gages and such. Alfred made his way to the central platform of the bridge, and there was a small team waiting there. Alfred recognized the line-up as Francis, Arthur, the ditzy brunet, and another, new face. He looked to be quite shy, and he had blond hair that looked to be a style that mixed both Francis's and Alfred's. There was a single long looping strand that hung in front of his face. He wore a red hoodie with jeans and boots. He also had utility belts much like Arthur's, but the tools that filled them where much different. He also had a pair of goggles that hung from around his neck.

"Gentlemen, this is Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones, these are some of your crewmates, Francis Bonnefoy, Arthur Kirkland, Feliciano Vargas and Matthew Williams. I want you all to give Alfred your undivided attention," Winter spoke solemnly and clearly to the group. There was a projector and board set up for Alfred, along with slides from the text he'd read. He understood that they probably wanted to know more about how they were supposed to get to Atlantis.

"Well, firstly there is a legend regarding a creature said to be guarding the entrance to Atlantis. The creature is called the Leviathan," Alfred stopped here in order to show an illustration of the creature on the projector. The illustration was obviously an ancient depiction of the Leviathan, as it was crudely drawn. But the shape couldn't be mistaken, as it looked to be in the shape of a lobster.

"Let's see, with that, I would think white wine would work perfectly," Francis piped up, motioning to start putting his arm around Arthur's shoulders. Arthur growled and elbowed Francis hard in the stomach.

"Pay attention, you fool," he ground out. Alfred continued.

"It's a mythical sea serpent. It's described in the book of Job, where the bible says 'out of his mouth go burning lights, sparks of fire shoot out'. But more than likely, it's just some sort of defense mechanism of some kind."

"So, we find this master-piece, then what?" Arthur asked.

"Um... will there be any digging?" A soft voice asked. Alfred had absolutely no clue where it came from and was a little freaked out by it. But he answered it with as little fear as possible.

"Actually, we won't have to dig. See, according to the Journal, a fissure or crevasse of some sort will lead down like a pathway of some sort that will come up and curve into an air-pocket," Alfred explained, drawing a diagram on the board, "There will be another path there, most likely in ruins, that will lead us to Atlantis. Kinda like the grease trap in your kitchen sink." Alfred chuckled.

"Cartographer, linguist, plumber, hard to believe Monsieur Alfred is single!" Francis exclaimed, laughing his little 'honhonhon' laugh and batting his eyes at Alfred, which annoyed both him and Arthur greatly. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shut it, you bloody frog," Arthur retorted. The shy, quiet one seemed a bit down at the mention that there would be no excavating or digging.

"Commander, you better have a look at this," one of the sailors called.

"Very well, you are all dismissed. Bring on the external lights," Winter ordered. The submarine continued its descent downward into the vast crevices of the Atlantic's deep waters. The external lights flared on like flood lights, searching in the dark blue gloom. The crew members in the bridge could see out of the windows out onto the seafloor plateau below. There were thousands of ship wreckages strewn about there.

"Look at all of it!" Feliciano exclaimed in surprise.

"There are ships from every era," Arthur noted. Being a ship and nautical fanatic himself, he could easily pick out ships from various time periods, even if there was only wreckage remaining of them. And out there, in the deep gloom, something was lurking beyond their sight. One of the radio workers listening in suddenly blanched and started to adjust the radio frequency as he started to hear a strange noise.

"Commander, sir!" he called out, "We're picking up something on the hydrophone. You really should hear this!" Winter regarded the man.

"Put it on the loud speakers," he rumbled. The techie flipped the switch, and suddenly, the bridge was filled with an eerie, echoing noise that bounced and reverberated off of the walls. Everyone paused to listen, and the sound seemed to inadvertently invoke dread in them.

"Whales maybe?" Matthew asked in a small voice.

"It sounds enormous, whatever it is," Francis commented.

"No, it sounds metallic," Arthur commented, "maybe it's an echo off the rocks?"

"Um, is it just me, or is it getting louder?" Alfred asked, his eyes darting around. The sound was really starting to creep him the fuck out. And then, suddenly, the sounds died down, and stopped. The whole crew seemed to hold their breaths for a minute.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now," Francis interjected.

"Helmsman," Winter commanded, "bring us about, tighten our search pattern and slow us-" Suddenly the whole submarine shook as something hit it violently, sending everyone to the floor. Arthur scrambled up to go down below and check on the flood gates and boilers, even as the sub was tossed around.

"Out of my bloody way!" He shouted to anyone unfortunate enough to get in his path. Out in the waters, a giant behemoth that looked to be shaped like a lobster, with large, powerful claws, long feelers coming out of a pincer-like mouth, and a long, dark body that finished off into a wicked tail with sharp fins. It's eyes glowed red as they fixated on the submarine. Arthur's face contorted to concern and worry as he saw the water in the lower levels of the sub.

"I want this thing taken down, now!" Commander Winter roared. The lieutenant scrambled and ordered for the firing of the torpedoes, and for everyone to get into their battle stations. Then, another blow rocked the submarine harshly. As the crew rushed into the battle pods in order to fight, the giant Leviathan clamped down one of its massive claws onto the backside of the submarine. Alfred felt himself thrown, and he landed against the Plexiglas window to come face to face with one of the eyes of the Leviathan. His eyes widened as he studied the beast. It was covered in plates, intricately welded together, it's red eye burning like a large flashlight, and it's eyelids only a circular formation of plates that closed up as the eye narrowed itself. There were carvings and loops everywhere along the beast's metallic body.

"HOLY MOTHER OF JEFFERSON DAVIS! IT'S A MACHINE!" He cried out. Arthur savagely wretched the valve that closed the first floodgate as the water started to rush towards it. He turned the thing as hard and fast as he could until the iron door closed, cutting off most of the water. The door closed violently, spraying the water that managed to come through.

"Release the sub-pods!" Winter shouted.

"Sub-pods away!" A sailor announced. Many small, versatile pods burst from the submarine to attack the Leviathan. Ludwig started boarding, grabbing a struggling Feliciano that was already panicking, shouting something about showing white flags to the sea creature. The battle pods all launched, and all started firing their torpedoes in rapid succession directly at the face of the massive machine monster, making it rear back and release the submarine from its claws.

"We're free, pull ahead full!" Winter commanded. The Leviathan wretched and swam away, now chasing down the group of pods instead of the sub. The submarine could now position itself to be able to fire it's torpedoes at the Leviathan, as it came around following the pods. As the sub fired its torpedoes, the Leviathan's markings suddenly lit up in a brilliant flash of blue, and its mouth feelers coiled up to concentrate a powerful beam of light at the sub's midsection. It only grazed the side of the sub, but it was a massive beam, and it blew out what it had touched. Arthur hurriedly ran from the boiler room, and as he scrambled out to find an intercom to connect to the bridge, the sailors behind him sealed another flood valve.

"Commander!" He shouted into the radio speaker, "We took a big hit down here and we're taking a LOT of water fast! I DON'T want to be down here when it hits the boilers!"

"How much time do we have?" Winter asked, his tone deep.

"Twenty minutes if the bunk head holds," There was a loud sound behind Arthur, "Shite! Better make that five."

"You heard him! Let's move!" The commander shouted. A sailor grabbed Alfred and started to lead him away.

"Move? Move where?" he asked frantically. He was rushed quickly through the sub's corridors, and he could see Arthur ahead of him as the Brit had rounded a corridor onto the hallway that he was running on. He made it to an escape pod and started to shout, "Move it! Sometime today would be nice!" Alfred jumped into the pod hatch, followed by Francis and Matthew. Winter was already strapped in as Arthur shouted for everyone to buckle themselves up. The sub was sinking fast, and the Leviathan had its sights dead on it. It shot forward, sliding through the water towards its prey, coiling its massive feelers for another beam attack, this time hitting straight through the middle of the submarine. Their escape pod shot out of the submarine and Winter started to navigate it fluidly. The submarine exploded behind them as they made their escape. The Leviathan was hot on their heels. The escape pods and a few of the battle pods flew through the deep sea canyons roughly.

"Where to, Jones?" Winter growled.

"We're looking for a deep fissure of some kind!" He shouted back, his energy and excitement levels too high for him to manage anything quieter.

"There, up ahead! All pods, make your descent twenty degrees down angle!" Winter commanded through the radios to the other pilots.

"We're behind you!" Feliciano yelled from his and Ludwig's battle pod frantically, the blond beside him much calmer than his Italian companion. They surged forward as fast as they could, the Leviathan angry and groaning as it shifted, swishing and contorting its metallic body as it swam behind them. It waved its claws around wilding, trying to knock and reach any pods in its vicinity. Its large body got caught at the crevice's mouth, but it still fired off beams at pods in its sights, destroying one that couldn't get away. The great fissure became narrower and narrower until they were following not a crack, but a tunnel, and the pods propelled forward wildly, going farther and farther down until it suddenly curved upwards and they had to change their angle quickly, until they were following this tunnel up, up, up, until, finally, they broke to the surface.

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><p>They're getting longer, yeah? I'm trying to add details and things where I can to make them longer. Don't worry, I'll be adding more things and extra events as the story progresses and such. Hope you enjoyed and please review! It makes me happy.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4 Trailblazing

Next chapter, woot! The closer it gets to the holidays, the harder it will be for me to work on my writing, you know, with family obligations and all that. I'll try to work whenever I can, on top of making the chapters longer. That's something I've been trying to do as well. I hope you enjoy! And thank you for all the reviews, favorites, alerts, and all that mess. It brings joy to my heart! Special thanks to those who have reviewed so far. Thank you! I still don't own anything~!

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><p><em>Chapter Four<em>

Alfred had only ever been truly sad only once in his life. He had only cried, truly, once. His parents had died when he was really young, and he had never known them. He felt regretful that he never met them, still visited their graves and got them flowers, but he wasn't particularly sad about it. After all, he got to spend an awesome childhood learning from his grandfather. It was when his grandfather passed that he had first ever cried bitter tears of mourning, and felt his soul shake and tremble with loss, with deep depression. He had been fifteen then, a full seven years ago. For a day or two, he had felt as if he would never be happy again, never be able to enjoy anything again. He felt like he had lost the only person that had understood him, that would _ever _understand him. But, he had realized something important as he flipped through one of their old photo albums: he could never remember a time when he had seen his grandfather sad, or ever remember a time when a smile hadn't been on his face. Even during times in his grandpa's life when things had been bleak, though Alfred hadn't recognized them at the time, being young. And then, Alfred thought, 'If he could charge through life smiling like that all of the time, then I should be able to!"

From that moment of time in his life onward, Alfred did nothing but smile and be as happy as he could. He vowed never to cry again. He did whatever mad him happy, like getting his pilot's license, and following his grandfather's dream, pledging to realize it for him. He would carry on for his grandfather, and pick up where he had left off.

Now, standing here on the shore of the large, cavernous air pocket that they had surfaced into from their pods while escaping the Leviathan, he felt a deep and familiar sadness well up in himself as Ludwig floated a solitary helmet with a lit candle inside across the water, in order to honor all that had been lost in the hectic battle that had seemed like ages ago, and yet, also seemed like only a second. The survivors all stood solemnly for a time, Feliciano sniffling quietly, or as quietly as he could make himself. It wasn't that much. They had surfaced at the base of a large stone carved staircase that led up into the mouth of a gigantic cave. The mouth of the cave had been carved to look like the pathway was entering the throat of a large fish of some kind. There were crumbled and destroyed pillars lined along the sides of the stairs, and stalagmites and stalactites everywhere, creating a canyon-like effect to the place. All of this had been observed through flashlights as the crew had warily come ashore, wondering what else might await them.

"Well," Winter announced, his voice ever stoic and barely above monotone, "the only thing we can do now is to drive forward, and to see all of this through until the end. We've been through dire situations such as these before, and we've driven through them. This is no different, here and now. Everyone pulls double duty. Everyone contributes their weight and then some. Let's move out." And the whole expedition started to work, checking over what they had, how many people they had, and the best way to move forward up the imposing staircase that ascended to the throat of a large tunnel. There were about a dozen military trucks left, and a large, drill-like excavation vehicle as well.

Alfred raised an eyebrow as he saw the timid Matthew sitting in the thing. The two images clashed very dramatically. He looked about and saw Feliciano enthusiastically getting into a truck, before Ludwig came up behind him and pulled him out. He looked to be scolding the Italian, who had a look of disappointment on his face as he was forced to sit into the passenger's seat. And of course, Alfred noticed, Arthur and Francis were bickering over who should drive, and also that Arthur didn't even want the 'bloody frog-licking Frenchie' riding with him in the first place. Alfred smiled as he climbed into the nearest vacated truck. It brought back some fond memories for him. He remembered his grandfather teaching him how to drive a stick-shift on their large plot of land, where he had plenty of room to move around, even before he was able to get his permit. Alfred had been so excited, and had near wrecked on his first go, much too enthusiastic with the accelerator.

Alfred had always preferred trucks ever since then. Even if it wasn't a stick shift, Alfred had no trouble driving any kind of truck. Something about its ruggedness and usefulness always made Alfred biased toward them. Alfred liked having things he knew were useful, from his vehicles to his sense of fashion, everything. He had always hated dressing up, and liked to wear things that were comfortable and practical. Trucks had always felt comfortable and practical to Alfred, and that was why he drove them. Even if it was military, Alfred easily slipped into his comfort zone as he worked it. Luckily, the stone steps of the stairs were very old and worn down, so the vehicles could drive over them with only minimal difficulty.

"I'm surprised you know how to drive one of these things," came a deep voice from beside the parked truck's open window. Alfred jumped as he turned to see Commander Winter observing him.

"Oh, well, grandpa got me started on trucks early in my childhood, so I've always been most at home driving one," Alfred explained to him, kind of wishing that the man would go away. He always made him nervous for some reason. He could never tell what Winter was thinking. Winter nodded, seeming satisfied with the information.

"And you're sure that you know where to go from here?" Winter asked. Alfred nodded.

"I'm sure, sir. I've read over the Journal at least five times since I got it," Alfred replied.

"I see..." Winter said, seeming to trail off into thought. Alfred nodded slowly and turned to start the truck, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. He was really starting to get the heebie-jeebies. The whole crew made their way through the tunnels smoothly after that. There were columns carved in the sides in some places where cracks and rubble and time hadn't worn them away. The ground looked as if it used to be paved, but it was very worn down, and you could barely see the crevices from the individual tiles anymore. The ceiling of the tunnel was very high, extending far above them, giving them ample room to travel around, and the space between the walls was wide. The tunnel sometimes opened into large open spaces that spiraled as they continued a gradual and winding descent downward and across, and it seemed to just stretch on and on.

They seemed to travel for days, stopping and resting every once and a while before continuing on. Alfred could feel the distance between him and the other members of the team during these times. Alfred grew painfully aware that he wasn't one of them. They all seemed to have histories together, and knew each other. Alfred had only met them what he could only guess as maybe weeks or maybe even a full month ago, it was hard to tell the time when you were underground. It hurt Alfred, as he was naturally a people person and a social butterfly, and as such, craved companionship and acceptance. As the others gathered around their campfire and talked about whatever it is they talked about, or argued, in Arthur and Francis's case, Alfred would be studying over the Journal, even though he had read it over countless times. He familiarized himself with the writing and the dead language even more intimately than he had before, just in case other things needed translating later, such as on ruins. He often felt a bit lonely, but he pushed these feelings away. They wouldn't do him any good. He needed to be ready for when they depended on him for directions. He chose to focus on that, because it made him feel needed.

Eventually, they came across an enormous chasm, and in front of this chasm stood one solitary pillar. It was massive, the circumference could easily fit all of the trucks they had inside of it. It was very impressive, and carved with ornate designs.

"Whoa! Look at the size of that!" Alfred exclaimed. Arthur eyed it critically from his car.

"It has to be at least a half of a mile high..." He guessed.

"It must have taken, hundreds... maybe thousands of years to carve this thing!" Alfred continued. Feliciano rushed out of his and Ludwig's vehicle.

"Oh! It's perfect! I can make a bridge across the canyon with this! Let's blow it up!" He exclaimed happily. Arthur rolled his eyes and Alfred stared at Feliciano with wide eyes. Feli was already unpacking dynamite packs and hooking up equipment to the base of the column in record time.

"I guess it can't be 'elped... such a belle structure, too," Francis lamented, "I am in need of physical comfort to get over ze depression of destroying zis fine art piece!" He leapt from the passenger seat and into Arthur's lap in the driver's seat.

"You don't need bloody anything! Get off me!" The two tussled in the truck, Arthur trying to push and kick Francis away, and Francis grabbing onto any body part of Arthur in reach. Finally Arthur got the advantage when he managed to kick Francis square in the face and throw him back against the passenger side door.

"Oh, Arthur, you like to play it so rough! But lucky for you, when it comes to l'amour, I can deal with anything!" Francis cried.

"You stay away from me!" Arthur yelled at him. The two were startled when a loud explosion rattled the place with the force of its noise.

"Oh well..." Alfred sighed. Feliciano's excitement didn't even waver one bit.

"Look, Ludwig! I made a bridge! Isn't that neat?" He asked, skipping back to their car.

"Yes, that's very nice," Ludwig said, as if he were praising a small child. There was a hint of exasperation in his voice, but Feliciano hardly noticed.

"Let's keep it moving, people!" Commander Winter signaled for them to drive forward. They travelled forward again, and with each passing day as they made it closer, the temperature started to drop significantly. It wasn't long before they started to find ice formations around the stalagmites and stalactites, which eventually evolved into snow that covered the cave. Water that had gotten trapped so far down must have iced over there. Everyone had to pull out warmer clothing from the supplies. As they moved forward, Francis started to gain a devious smile. When they had stopped to make camp in this cold, he sneakily grabbed some snow in his mitted hands and threw it gracefully at Arthur's head. It hit him in the back and Arthur immediately turned around.

"WHAT THE HELL! Stop playing around, you frog!" But Francis only started to giggle.

"Oh! I want to play in the snow too!" Feliciano chimed, and grabbed some snow for himself. He then turned to Ludwig. The German scowled and shook his head no.

"Don't you dare," he spoke. Feliciano pulled his arm backwards.

"I'm varning you." Feliciano pulled his arm back more.

"Feli-" He let it fly then, and it landed square on Ludwig's face. Feliciano clapped his hands.

"Wow! My aim is so good!" Ludwig angrily whipped snow from his face.

"You asked for it!" And with that, Ludwig started to rapidly pick up and fire snowballs at Feliciano one after another. Feliciano screeched and begged Ludwig to stop as the snow melted in his hair and on his clothes.

"Noooo! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I surrender! Please spare me!" Feliciano cried. Ludwig was satisfied then, and stopped his assault. Similar cries were coming from Francis, however, Arthur was not so forgiving.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP FOR THE LAST TIME!" Arthur roared. Francis ran away in pain from the cold and grabbed onto Alfred and hid behind him.

"Save me! Aide-moi!" Alfred raised an eyebrow at him, but quickly turned back his attention to the angry Brit that was fast approaching.

"Whoa there, buddy!" Alfred exclaimed, putting his hands up, but Arthur threw his snowball anyways, and because of his abysmal aim, had hit Alfred in the chest instead of in Francis's face peeking out from over Alfred's shoulder, as he intended. "Oh, now it's on!" Alfred scooped up some snow and formed it in his hands perfectly, then reared back and pitched the snowball like he was in a baseball game. Alfred loved baseball. Alfred had played baseball most of his middle school and high school years. Alfred was _good_ at baseball. And guess what position he was the best at? _Pitcher._ As the snowball connected with Arthur's cheek he flew back and landed on his ass. Francis deemed it safe as he saw the spectacle occur and came from behind Alfred.

"Ha! Zat's what you get for being so cruel!" he shouted triumphantly, laughing at Arthur's misfortune. Arthur cursed as he nursed his injured face. Alfred had a look of pride plastered on his face. 'Yup,' he thought to himself, 'I still got it.' The crew had a lot more respect for him after this incident, and all learned not to mess with Alfred when he had anything throw-able in his immediate grabbing vicinity. For the next few days of travel, Arthur sported a nasty bruise on his cheek and jaw, serving as a reminder never to try and fight Francis where there was a chance that he could accidentally hit Alfred. Though the Brit would never admit it, the incident had gained Alfred some respect in his eyes. It also made the Brit nag on Alfred more, much to Alfred's displeasure. They soon came upon a vast stone slab that had fallen perpendicular into the road, blocking the path in front of them. The vehicles all stopped, and the crew all stood in front of the slab to survey it.

"What do you say, Mr. Vargas?" Winter asked Feli. Feliciano stared at the structure for a while, and everyone could see the little gears in his head turning.

"I could unblock that with about... 200 of these," He gestured to a dynamite stick in his hand, "The problem is I only have about... five? And some home made things... a little cherry bomb... Oh! And a road flare!" Everyone stared at him blankly.

"Well, looks like we'll have to try and drill through it. Where is Matthew?" Winter asked.

"Uh... here!" Matthew called out softly. Everyone looked around, not noticing him.

"Well, where ever he is," Winter continued, "tell him to get on this, now." Everyone nodded, and Matthew sighed. 'Why does this always happen to me?' he thought. He climbed nimbly into his large drilling vehicle and started it up. Within minutes he was drilling through the slab. However, he hadn't even got two feet into it when suddenly the thing backfired. Smoke poured from the exhaust pipes and Matthew had the look of a kicked puppy.

"Bloody hell," Arthur murmured as he opened the hatch to the vehicle's engine compartment, "I just tuned this thing! Doesn't make any sense for it to be working the way it does." Alfred peeked in behind Arthur's back and was surprised to see that it looked almost exactly like the boiler that he dealt with back at the Institution.

"Ugh, looks like the thing is shot. I'm going to have to pull out spare parts."

"Um, could I see-" Arthur cut Alfred off.

"Don't you touch anything. I've got a handle on this, thank you. Just leave it to someone with experience in the field." And with that, Arthur left to get the spare parts. 'Well if he's going to be like that, then I'm definitely looking at it!' Alfred thought to himself, pausing to quickly stick out his tongue at the retreating Brit before looking at the inside of the drill. He tweaked the valves just like he did at the museum, and found a wrench of Arthur's and smacked the thing. The engine suddenly roared to life, good as new and Alfred nodded his head and crossed his arms. 'And THAT is how it's done,' he thought. Matthew squealed in delight, though no one noticed.

"Hey! What did you do?" Arthur growled. Alfred flashed a winning smile at the shorter blond.

"Well, back at the museum I handled a similar model to this. You could say that I'm an _expert_ on it," he boasted. It only caused Arthur to narrow his eyes farther, and his scowl to deepen even more.

"Bloody American thinks he can do whatever he wants," Arthur grumbled under his breath, as he went back to his car. And with that, the crew continued forward once again, Matthew drilling through the slab contentedly. They eventually came upon a large opening that had a nice, flat plateau before narrowing into a bridge leading to another tunnel. There was a massive glowing chandelier-like structure on the ceiling of this cavern area that gave off an eerie green light.

"Ve~... why is it glowing like that?" Feliciano asked. Matthew walked up beside him and shrugged.

"It's probably just a natural phosphorus," he answered. Feliciano jumped.

"W-what was that?" he squeaked. Matthew just sighed and shook his head. 'Why do I even bother anymore?' he thought. The group all then camped there to rest.

"That _thing_ is going to keep me up all night," Arthur complained. After waiting awhile, Francis twirled in with the meal he prepared.

"Dinner is ready~!" he cheerfully called. Everyone rolled their eyes at him. Alfred took his customary place a bit farther away from the other crew members. Feliciano stared at him for a long while before looking at the others.

"Alfred is always sitting by himself! We should invite him over here! He looks kind of lonely..." The others all turned to were Alfred was pouring himself over his book for the hundredth time.

"Why not?" Ludwig agreed, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't really care," Arthur replied moodily, which was his own way of agreeing.

"Ze more ze merrier, I always say!" Francis sang out.

"Ve! Alfred! Come join us over here!" Feliciano called out. Matthew once again was left out of the decision making process, even if he was going to agree anyway. It was the thought that counted. Alfred looked very surprised, but came over to the others anyways.

"Oh, uh, thanks guys!" He said happily, giving them a thumbs up. He situated himself in the space between Feliciano and Arthur. On Feliciano's other side was Ludwig, and on Arthur's was Francis. Matthew sat unnoticed in-between Ludwig and Francis, completing the circle. Feliciano watched as Alfred ate distractedly, still looking at the book.

"I haven't seen you put that thing down once," Arthur said.

"You must have read that thing over a hundred times!" Feliciano added, waving his arms a bit.

"Yeah, I know... But... something just doesn't seem right," Alfred admitted. "Here on this page it's talking about something called 'The Heart of Atlantis' and seems to be leading up into something more detailed, but then on the next page it just stops completely. It's not even on the same subject anymore. It's like there is a missing page or pages."

"It's probably nothing to worry about. If it hasn't presented any problems so far, then it can't be all that important, oui?" Francis asked.

"I guess so..." Alfred sighed, "But I mean, this is what it's all about though, y'know? Discovery! Adventure! ..." Alfred grew excited, but as another thought crossed his mind, he trailed off.

"... Unless you guys are in it for the money?" he asked skeptically. The rest of the crew all looked around at each other.

"Pretty much."

"Definitely money."

"Oh, yeah!" Alfred shook his head and chuckled.

"I guess I set myself up for that one..." Alfred sighed and started to rub his neck. It seemed to be giving him some discomfort.

"Is there something wrong with your neck?" Ludwig asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Must have hurt it, uh... somewhere?" Ludwig moved behind Alfred and started to twist his head. There were loud cracking sounds.

"Ah! Oh!" Alfred exclaimed.

"Is that any better?"

"Actually... yeah! That is! Thanks! Uh, how did you get into the medical field anyways?" Alfred asked.

"I had originally joined the army in order to escape my elder brother, who constantly feels the need to follow me into everything I get into," Ludwig confessed with a scowl, "I had actually found that I really liked the medical programs, however, so it was not a complete waste. I did love the organization and respect of the armed forces as well." Everyone finished up their meals and started to pitch their tents. Alfred sighed, running his hand over his jacket as he started to settle in.

"That jacket must be important to you. You haven't parted with it the whole trip," Feliciano noticed.

"Oh, yeah! Of course! It's an heirloom from my grandfather. It really does mean a lot to me," Alfred explained.

"Wow, that sounds so neat!"

"From everything I've heard," Arthur joined in, "your grandfather sounded like an amazing man." Alfred was amazed. That was the closest thing to a compliment that Arthur had ever spoken as long as Alfred had been around the Brit.

"Yeah... he really was," Alfred agreed wistfully, "Hey, Artie, how did you become the chief mechanic anyways?" Arthur rolled his eyes and scowled at the nickname, and farther down he could hear Francis chuckle, but he answered the question anyways.

"Well, I'm the youngest of a large family, and all of my siblings are boys. So obviously, I had to learn something useful in order to prove myself. I wasn't into all of the things that my brothers were into, and I felt sort of left out because of it. While they were playing sports, I was reading literature," Arthur said, "and finally my father just got fed up with me and stuck me into a internship for working on cars. I didn't find it all that bad, really, but still..." Arthur trailed off there.

"Oh wow, I would never have guessed," Alfred replied.

"Yes, well, I'm saving up so I can open an antique book shop instead," Arthur confessed, "That'll teach my father." Alfred couldn't stop himself from smiling at this.

"Oh! Me next, me next!" Feliciano waved his hand around.

"Ok, ok, what about you, Feli?" Alfred chuckled.

"Oh, where do I start? Well, mia famiglia owns a restaurant in Italy. There is me and my twin brother, Lovino, and my cousin, Antonio, and my grandfather too! And we all work there together! Then, one day I was arranging decorations outside of the restaurant. There must have been a leak of gas or something in the building next door because the next thing I know, 'BOOM!', no more ice cream shop! It knocked me flat onto my backside. It was amazing! Of course, I still want to help out with the restaurant, but I feel like this is something that I was finally able to do on my own away from my famiglia, something I could excel at myself." Feliciano's eyes were wide and shining.

"What's, uh... Francis's story?" Alfred asked warily.

"No!" Arthur and Ludwig suddenly exclaimed, looking around to see if the Frenchman was present. If he was, they both knew that he would go into a very long extensive _mature_ version of how became 'the best chef in all of France'.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know. He forced me to listen to him, and now I'm telling you, YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW," Arthur growled out, and with that they all turned out their lights to sleep. It was hours in the darkness and gloom, when everyone had long fallen asleep, that silent figures crept up along the camp. They wore very large masks that looked to be carved out of wood and painted with symbols and things. The masks had long solid veils attached to them like capes that covered their bodies as they moved. They wore tribal looking robes underneath those. Though the robes seemingly looked bulky and hard to move in at first, they were made in such a way to allow free movement and maximum coverage as well. Through the eye holes of the masks came eerie blue light. The tallest one of them, and the obvious leader since he moved first and ahead of the others, nimbly and swiftly moved about the camp, taking in the odd sights of the equipment and things. He stopped seemingly at random right in front of Alfred's tent and tilted his head to the side before starting to rummage around in a sack that was sitting beside his tent cautiously. Large hands carefully sifted through clothes until he came upon a small stack of photos bound by a rubber band. He picked these up gingerly, as if he thought they would tear or break at any minute. He extracted the rubber band carefully and with no sound, looking through the pictures.

The first was of a small Alfred of about nine with his grandfather, happily eating ice cream at the zoo, standing in front of the lion's exhibit. They had gotten the tour guide to take that picture. There was another of Alfred at age eleven standing in front of a hot air balloon, and another of he and his grandfather with a team of sled dogs bundled up tight and out in the snow. Alfred was fourteen then, and the dogs all seemed to love him, because they were all crowded around Alfred as he tried to pet them all at once. The next ones after that were after Alfred was fifteen. The first immediately after was a picture of Alfred in front of his grandfather's casket. Alfred's radiance was all but gone as he stared at the American flag laying over the closed casket, dressed in a suit. The next was still at the funeral, where Alfred was being handed the folded flag by an officer from the army. The next photo had skipped a couple of years, to when Alfred was eighteen and had regained his spunk. He was standing in front of his trusty truck in his cowboy boots, hat and bomber jacket that had been on his grandfather in the previous photos, where he was working at a farm for volunteer work. He was holding on the reigns of a horse that he had grown very close to during his work there. His smile was like the sun on a cloudless day, overwhelming and forceful. He was happy, but still hiding some hurt on the inside. Even if it wasn't that noticeable, the figure seemed to pick up on this. He was familiar with hiding the pain of loss.

The very last photo, the figure stopped at and admired fully. Alfred was twenty-two in this one. It was in front of his plane, and he was giving a thumbs up to the camera, bomber jacket ever present. His blue eyes seemed to almost glow as the joy in them burst forth. His grin was genuine, and his face just had this... look. A look of pure happiness. Alfred was always happiest when he flew. The freeing feeling of it, being so close to the sky that you could taste it, smell it. His high from flying the plane had been captured perfectly in that photo, and all of Alfred's cares were nonexistent in that instant. He truly looked light and free. The figure dropped the other photos back into the bag, but clutched and continued to stare at this one, transfixed at that radiant face. He grazed his fingertips ever so lightly across the figure of Alfred.

There was a sound, a sudden rustling from one of the tents, and the figures quietly scrambled away from the camp, the largest carefully filing the photo away into the folds of his robe as he swiftly escaped. Feliciano immerged sleepily from his tent, turning on the flashlight he kept beside his sleeping bag with one hand while rubbing his eyes with his other hand. He moved as quietly as he could to one of the trucks and fished out a roll of toilet paper and made his way to a large pile of rubble, intent on relieving his bladder. He delicately balanced the flashlight against his neck with his chin, the beam wobbling as he started to remove his pants. The beam lazily moved about the cavern until it landed upon the chandelier-like structure on the ceiling, who's glow had since faded from the level of brightness it had been before. As the light of the flashlight steadied on the chandelier, it began to glow brightly once more, unnoticed by Feliciano. As Feliciano finished and pulled his pants back up, he noticed glowing things coming down from the chandelier. He stared at them, because they looked an awful lot like fireflies. They flew around him, buzzing in his face and he tried to swat them away before reaching for the roll of toilet paper and flinging it at them. He stared in horror as the roll burst into flames. He looked back at the camp, where more fireflies were starting to congregate, landing on tents and catching them on fire. Thousands, millions of them poured from the chandelier structure like a swarm of locusts, intently coming down upon the camp.

Feliciano immediately ran back to his tent, thinking frantically that if he got his white flags and started to wave them, that maybe the firebugs would be nice and go away.

"Fire!" He started to scream in a panic, "Fire!" His voice rose from loud, to obnoxiously loud, which could wake even Alfred from his slumber. That, and the fact that his tent was catching fire as well. There were a multitude of shouts and curses as everyone awoke to the roaring flames. Anything the bugs landed on was subject to be burned and combusted.

"Somebody get some water on this!" Arthur shouted, as the flames started to roar into one gigantic inferno.

"There's no time!" Ludwig answered.

"Everyone, get into the caves!" Winter ordered, pointing across the bridge that led onward, "Move it all of you!" Quickly, vehicles were driven and started crossing the bridge. Alfred only just managed to jump into the bed of a moving truck as the one behind him combusted and blew up, the fireflies getting into the engine and exploding it. The fireflies swarmed around the trucks in the back, and they caught fire, exploding and starting a chain reaction to detonate the bridge, causing the thing to collapse behind them. The bridge then started to slant downward, creating a ramp to the level below, as it couldn't take the weight of all the trucks on it and started to crumble in front of them as well. The large drill vehicle was in front of everyone, so when it started to slide down, it pushed all those behind it down with it, sliding down the sloping and breaking bridge down into the dark level below. The level below wasn't too far from the bridge, but it steeply sloped downwards as well, so when all of the trucks slid off of the bridge and onto that level, they just continued to slide down. There was a great crashing sound of metal, and all was dark.

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><p>And that is the suspenseful conclusion to our latest chapter! Even if you already know what happens from the movie anyways... IT'S DIFFERENT! There will be some changes and added events and whatnot, I promise. It's not going to be completely like the movie once we start moving to the discovering of Atlantis and the events after that. IT'LL BE SPECIAL AND STUFF. Also, please notify me if you want to keep it rated T, or if you want me to step it up with Alfred and Ivan's relationship. I've been really debating whether or not I should... so please, give me your opinions! I would like very much to know, in case you think I would ruin the experience and story or something by adding love scenes or whatever. Your opinions matter to me. Thank you again for all of your love!<p> 


	6. Chapter 5 Greetings

I'm very sorry if you all have been waiting for this! I really was trying to work on it, but I had a lot of traveling and family stuff to do, and didn't always have internet around. But here it is finally! The latest chapter! Alfred and Ivan finally get to meet! I'm sure this is a chapter you guys have all been waiting to see! And of course, before I let you all go, I have to thank everyone for reviewing/alerting/favoriting/whatever! So, now that all that is out of the way, read on my friends, and I hope you enjoy it! I still don't own anything!

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><p><em>Chapter Five<em>

It was a dark, inky blackness that surrounded them. Sounds of dripping water echoed off of the cave walls. The silence was eerie. The sound of a match striking and flaring to life sounded through the gloom, and a small, warm light pierced through the darkness, illuminating a gruff, cold face.

"Everyone who's not dead, sound off!" Winter commanded, trying to look about in the glum. There were many moans of pain and discomfort scattered about. Just as the match was about to expire, Winter blew it out and reached down to the almost broken truck beneath him and turned on its headlights. It managed to illuminate the cavern they landed in much better. There were ruins, wreckage, and rocks everywhere.

"I need a damage report," Winter growled. Arthur got up from the floor, rubbing is sore back and turning on a flashlight he had managed to find. He looked around the wreckage critically.

"Not as bad as it could have been, I guess. There are some vehicles that aren't totaled... not many though. Maybe two... and the digger still looks like it'll work. We're fortunate that we managed to land in something soft to break our fall," He replied with irritation. He just knew that he was going to have some nasty bruises later, something that Francis would probably tease and try to take credit for. The wanker was just stupid like that.

"It's all ash," Matthew piped up softly, "We're standing at the base of a dormant volcano, by the looks of things." Ludwig managed to find a flare and fired it up into a shaft above them that he had illuminated with a flashlight of his own.

"It just keeps going~," Feliciano observed, staring up the shaft in awe.

"Maybe it's our ticket out of this place," Ludwig said, watching the flare continue its ascent. Then, the flare hit a blockage in the shaft and went out with a muffled 'thump', smoke falling from where it went out.

"Or not," Arthur replied, scowling.

"The magma must have solidified in the bowels of the volcano and simply blocked the exit," Matthew suggested.

"Wait, wait!" Francis said, waving his arms, "So zis thing could blow at any moment?" he squealed.

"No, no, it would take only an explosive force of great magnitude to re-activate this volcano," Matthew told him. Everyone turned to stare at Feliciano.

"What?" He asked, looking around and wondering what he had done this time. Everyone looked back up at the shaft.

"If we could blow the top off of that shaft, we'd have a straight shot to the surface," Matthew continued.

"Have anything to add, Mr. Jones?" Winter asked. They were answered by silence. The crew all looked around in the glum, trying to locate him.

"Alfred?" they called to the darkness, waving their flashlights around. He was no were to be found.

Slow deep breathing could be heard in the darkness. Alfred was alone and in the dark. He woke to the pitch black and had panicked at first, but he knew that wouldn't do him any good in his current situation. He just stayed still for a moment and tried to do a body assessment. Quick summary: _everything_ hurt. He groaned as he felt the soreness in his ribs and back and legs. He just knew that he was in bad shape, even without being able to see himself. He _felt_ it. There was a sharp pain radiating from the top of his right shoulder all the way down cutting through his pectoralis major on his right side. He felt a wetness seeping into his shirt and he knew that he must have a cut, and that he was bleeding. Just great. His superman shirt was _totally_ ruined now. And then, he thought with horror, that must mean he was getting blood on his jacket. 'Aw, _shit_,' he thought to himself. The first chance he got, he promised himself, he would try to wash the jacket as diligently as he could, by hand if he had to! The next thing he noticed was that there were blue lights shining from his peripheral vision.

'What's it gonna be _this time_?' Alfred thought sourly, 'some glowing, brain-sucking slug?' The thought sent a chill running down his back. He could feel a pain radiating from his left foot and ankle as well, and knew then that he would never be able to run or maybe even walk fast enough to escape. He could try crawling on the ground, but with that large jagged cut on his shoulder, he doubted that would really work out either. He was just so sore and tired _all over_. He really wished he could see. Luckily he could still feel his glasses on his face, though he had no idea if the lenses were cracked or anything. The lights looked like they were closer than before, and Alfred's breath involuntarily quickened. He really didn't wanna be killed by ghosts or something. 'Oh god, they're ghost lights, aren't they?' Alfred thought frantically. Just his luck that he would get killed by his one crippling fear. He was deathly afraid of ghosts. Really the only thing he was afraid of. He'd handled snakes before, went sky diving, and wasn't the least bit afraid at any of the animal exhibits in the zoo, even at the age of nine. He had stared straight in the many eyes of the spiders they'd had on exhibit, having a staring contest with a tarantula. But _ghosts_? Hell no.

He could see the outlines of figures, illuminated by the soft blue glow. He could see their masks, and the robes they wore, but couldn't really detect any colors but the stain of blue light. They were heading straight for him. There was one figure that seemed much bigger than the others, and it was obviously the leader. It seemed to pick up speed for a moment, nimbly climbing over rocks, but paused a few feet away from Alfred before slowly coming closer. 'God, the suspense is killing me,' Alfred thought. He didn't trust himself to speak, lest he screamed or something. That would totally not be manly or cool in any way. But he couldn't stop his heart-rate from increasing, his pulse thumping loudly in his ears, or his breath coming in rapid and shallow gasps. His blue eyes were wide as they regarded the figure that had crawled up to only mere inches away. The figure slowly pulled up its mask, and revealed the face of a man. Alfred unconsciously relaxed a little, recognizing that it wasn't a ghost of some kind. The man noticed Alfred relax and seemed to become a bit bold because of it. He inched a bit closer to the blond to observe him.

Alfred studied the figure, taking in the almost childish look of his face. His hair must have been pale, because it reflected the blue light perfectly, stained by its glow. The light was coming from a crystal that hung around the man's neck, threatening to be obscured by a thick, woven scarf that had many patterns and details. 'Who ever made that must have been a kick-ass knitter,' Alfred observed. The robes the man wore looked like a toga, but it had many clasps on the shoulders and front. It extended down to the knees, where it stopped to reveal pants and thick leather wrappings that served as the man's shoes. His arms were bare, but he had thick leather gloves on that extended to the elbows. Alfred looked back up to the face to see violet eyes staring directly into his. It unnerved him slightly. The figure silently lifted the crystal from around his neck and got closer to prod Alfred's wound with it, gently tugging and ripping his shirt away from the large cut. His shirt was beyond ruined now, Alfred just knew it. The guy ripped his shirt! Even if it was to look at his wound.

"Ah! Whoa, there!" Alfred exclaimed, a bit pained by the action and wincing. The figure quickly removed one of his gloves and pressed his hand harshly over the wound. Alfred gasped as he could feel a coldness seeping through his skin, but it soothed rather than pained him. He could feel that cold spreading throughout his body, and it washed his pains away. The figure pulled his hand back, and there was a glowing handprint where it had been pressed against his pectoral. The light gradually faded away, but there was left a curious blue mark. Alfred could only think to describe the symbol as resembling a snowflake pattern, with dots and intricate curves and overlapping lines. The man seemed just as surprised by its appearance as Alfred, tilting his head to the side as his eyes widened in wonder.

_"What does it mean? Healing has never produced a mark before."_ One of the other warriors whispered and spoke to the other in a weird language that Alfred couldn't identify. With its harsh consonant sounds, it reminded Alfred of German, or maybe Russian, but it also had a seeming mixture of other languages, like they were all thrown together. 'Great, I'm going to be kidnapped by communistic tribal people! They're gonna sacrifice me to their evil communist gods, aren't they?' Alfred thought despairingly, his imagination running wild in his state of shock.

_"I don't know... I will consult the shaman about this,"_ the leader replied in the same language, _"He might know what it means."_ The other warriors nodded to him, almost bowing. 'Maybe he's more than just the leader of this group,' Alfred started to think, 'He might be an important figure.' The leader turned to Alfred once more and gave a hesitant, small smile. For some reason, it made Alfred feel warm, and he couldn't stop the smile that spread on his face too. Then, there was a loud crumbling sound, as the rocks were giving way to the left of them. The group sprinted off at the sounds, darting over the rocks with a surprising speed.

"Oh no you don't, get back here! Wait!" Alfred shouted as he scrambled up and started to follow them. He felt oddly refreshed and invigorated. 'That was some healing,' Alfred thought to himself. Over the course of their expedition he had regained much of the figure that he had lost being locked up in that museum. Having to run and lift things and all that other stuff had really put him back into shape. So he was a little surprised when he actually had trouble keeping up with the warriors. Behind him, he could see lights from some vehicles as the digger plunged through any wreckage and rubble that was in its way. 'For a shy, docile guy, Matthew sure drives that thing pretty recklessly,' Alfred thought.

Alfred leapt and climbed over rocks, frantically trying to keep up with the retreating men. They proved to be much too fast, and it was all Alfred could do to keep up. He could see a light beaming from a break in the rocks and his eyes widened. There were sounds of running water, and vines started to immerge from the cave walls, signs of foliage appearing. He eventually reached the gap and he barely managed to squeeze through it. He was amazed by the sight at the other side. It came to a large cliff that jutted out over a moat of magma. And beyond that moat was a very large, stunning plateau that had water just pouring from it, creating a ring of roaring water. Jutting out from the water of the plateau was a large city, or at least what appeared to be a piece of the city. From where Alfred stood, he could see where buildings were half torn apart, walls missing, and where roads abruptly ended and fell into the water. The city was like a stone version of Venice. Water was everywhere, not just literally, but also everywhere in designs and carvings, and the colors of the city were all white and blue colors that complimented the waters around them. There were plants and foliage everywhere. The city was beautiful in a faded civilization sort of way. It was obvious just by looking at it that it was on decline from a former glory. There were clouds of thick steam rising from where the water met the magma. And yet, even then, it was slightly colder than Alfred would have expected. He really wished his shirt wasn't torn now, because his bare chest was starting to get a chill, and goosebumps started to form. He wasn't a geologist, or whatever, but wasn't it supposed to get hot whenever there was magma around?

There was a great rumbling sound as the digger immerged from hind him, tearing apart the crevice in the mountain face, and stopping behind him. The other members of the crew followed, coming out to stand behind him. There were mixed looks of awe on their faces as they stared at the magnificent sight before them.

"Sweet Queen Elizabeth," Arthur stammered out, for once in his life completely speechless as he gazed upon the ruins.

"Trés magnifique," Francis sighed breathily, "It reminds me of France!"

"You bloody fool! It looks _nothing_ like France!" Arthur retorted, sending a particularly nasty glare at the Frenchman.

"Ah, but they are alike in stunning beauty!"Arthur growled and looked ready to strangle the flamboyant blond. The party was startled out of their daze by the warriors from before leaping down from the rocks above and behind them, trapping them between their spears and the cliff. They must have been lying in wait for the rest of Alfred's crew to follow him out from the cave.

"Who are these people?" Ludwig asked, and beside him Feliciano was fumbling with pulling a white cloth from his pocket.

"They must be Atlantians!" Alfred exclaimed excitedly. His emotions were starting to run high again, and his blue eyes sparkled with joy. His earlier fear of the warriors was now non-existent, since without the darkness of the cave, the glow from their crystal pendants didn't make them look like ghosts anymore. Now he only felt eagerness as he regarded them, a wide grin splitting over his face. Winter stayed eerily silent, critically eyeing the warriors, sizing them up. The leader boldly stepped forward, and Alfred finally got to see his full height. This dude was _tall_. He was taller than Alfred, even a bit taller than Winter! The height difference did nothing to prevent Alfred from staring directly into the eye sockets of the mask, however. He was just too excited to give any fear a chance to come through.

_"I want to know who you people are and why you are here," _the leader said to them in their weird language, _"I have seen you traveling through here. I am surprised you have made it this far. And now, you will tell me everything you know."_ Everyone in the crew looked at Alfred, as if expecting that he knew what was going on. Alfred grinned sheepishly. Well, since the language reminded him of Russian before, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to try and speak it and see if they understood him. Even if the only version of Russian he knew was an old, outdated version of the modern dialect. He studied artifacts, so he was only really interested in learning the most ancient forms of languages anyways. He guessed that it would actually be a plus in this case, since Atlantis had been sunk for over a hundred years anyways. It wasn't really like he had any other choice. They weren't gonna kill them if they couldn't understand them... right?

"Uh, ok, um... _Can you understand me?"_ He asked in old Russian, a little rusty and out of practice. The tall figure slowly removed his mask, revealing that childish face once more. Alfred could now tell that his hair was indeed a very pale blond, with hints of silver. His skin was also pale, but he had an excited gleam to his violet eyes that mirrored Alfred's, and a small smile. Alfred guessed that this was a good thing.

_"Yes, you can speak? This is good, you understand!" _he spoke. Alfred nodded and his grin grew even larger. He pumped his fist in the air. This was so amazing! He was speaking with an ATLATIAN. Oh, he was so awesome.

"They can speak Russian?" Winter asked Alfred, "How is this?" Alfred shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, their dialect is a bit similar... And I notice some other languages too... so, maybe their language is like a root for others," Alfred reasoned, "but it's very old versions of the modern languages that we have today. I mean, they've been underground a _long_ time." The leader cleared his throat, bringing Alfred's attention back to him.

"You know... ah..." His face twisted in concentration. It made his nose scrunch up, which was kind of cute. It was a large nose, but it didn't look bad. Rather, it complimented his face. Alfred had no trouble thinking these things because currently he still couldn't get over his awe of the place, and the overwhelming excitement. He hadn't really fully realized what he was thinking at the moment.

"You know... different... speech?" he finally pieced together. Alfred nodded encouragingly. He could speak some English! This was so awesome. English was awesome.

_"Yes, I know a lot of old languages. Some of my friends," _Alfred gestured to the others behind him, _"have different native languages."_ He had switched back to old Russian in order to make it easier for the taller man. However, he proved stubborn, and still spoke English, as if to prove that he could do it. It secretly impressed Alfred. The guy had guts, something Alfred respected.

"I see. I am... rusted. Do not speak this often," he explained. Alfred nodded.

"I understand. Not really much reason to, I'd imagine," he replied, chuckling a little. These people probably hadn't had visitors for centuries. The taller man nodded enthusiastically. Winter moved forward beside Alfred, startling him a little.

_"We are explorers from the surface. We came in search of your civilization," _he said in Russian. 'This guy spoke Russian?' Alfred thought, 'He's just full of surprises'. The leader regarded Winter somewhat stonily, narrowing his eyes an almost unnoticeable fraction. Alfred didn't know it, but the man was peeved that the older man had interrupted his and Alfred's conversation, and was annoyed at Winter's proximity to Alfred. He turned back to Alfred, basically just ignoring Winter.

"I welcome you to the city of Atlantis," he spoke, a bit more sure of himself this time, and gesturing to the city on the plateau, "Come now, you must see it, and meet my sister." And with that, he grabbed Alfred's wrist determinedly, and dragged him along.

"Whoa there big guy, slow down! I'm right behind you!" Alfred said, laughing a bit. He was glad he wasn't the only one that was excited about this. He couldn't see the taller man's giddy smile at the sound of his laugh. It sounded quite nice to him. They made their way to a bridge made of rope and wood that led across the moat of magma. The other members of the gang followed them warily, while Winter barked out orders to the troops to gather all their supplies and salvage things from where they had fallen. They had left in a bit of a rush in order to find Alfred. One of the soldiers came up to Commander Winter when the crew was out of earshot.

"Commander, there weren't supposed to be people down here... does this affect the plan?"

"It changes nothing," Winter replied smoothly and coldly. The soldier gulped.

"Ah, this is so exciting!" Francis exclaimed.

"Ve~! I had no idea this is what we would find here! It's all so amazing!" Feliciano spoke dreamily.

"Yes, it is quite overvelming," Ludwig replied. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"No kidding," he said. They made their way from the bridge and into the city, everyone looking around excitedly. Their eyes couldn't stay in one place, there was just too much to see. There were boats akin to gondolas that people used when the roads became too submerged with water to be walked on. Alfred watched kids playing in knee-deep water-logged roads fondly. He'd always had a soft spot for kids. He felt like his heart was just ready to explode with all of this. He'd been right all along! His grandfather had been right! It was all just overwhelming to take in. They all soon came up to a large temple-like building with spires and proud banners flowing from it. There was a pair of large wooden doors decorated with thin drapes that hung over them.

"Here," the leader proclaimed strongly. They all stopped in front of the doors. He turned back to Alfred and his crew. He sheepishly fiddled with his scarf.

"Ah, my sister... she is not one for, ah," He gestured to the crew.

"Outsiders?" Arthur supplied helpfully. The tall man nodded vigorously.

"Yes, she is not one for outsiders. I will talk to her. All of you, stay quiet. I will talk." The crew members exchanged nervous glances. Alfred shrugged.

"Whatever you say, big guy," he told the leader amiably. Nothing could dampen his mood. He was on cloud nine. The taller man seemed bolstered by Alfred's unworried and contented disposition. He signaled the guards, and they pulled open the large doors for them, and they entered a very grand and spacious room, with small little water pathways engraved into the floors to make patterns and brightly colored cloth draped everywhere. There were some steps leading up to a long, throne-like couch. Sitting on the couch very primly sat a shrewd looking girl with eyes like a hawk's. Her hair was only just slightly darker than her brother's, and her eyes a darker shade of purple as well. But there was an odd sort of aura about her that you could just tell the two were related. Her eyes honed in on her brother's figure like a sniper would hone in on a target, and as she saw the others trailing behind him her face turned from a slight frown into an even deeper frown.

_"Vanya, who are these people? Why have you brought them here? They should have been killed before being allowed this far into the city!" _she hissed, obviously not pleased, even though Alfred was the only one of the crew that understood her. Alfred pouted. They weren't that bad! 'What crawled up her skirt and died?' he thought to himself. She was looking sharply at all of the crew, sizing them up and sniffing her nose at them.

_"Please calm down, sister. They are guests here. I wanted to talk to them. They might be able to help us revitalize the city," _'Vanya' said. From what Alfred could understand, that was his name. His sister only roughly snapped her foot down and crossed her arms like a little child that wasn't getting it's way. The crew all shifted uneasily, reading her body language as a bad sign, and hearing the rage in her voice, even if they couldn't understand what she was saying.

_"There is nothing wrong with the city! The people are happy, and we have been doing just fine as we are,"_ she replied to Vanya stubbornly. Vanya sighed. His voice stayed calm, and Alfred figured he must know how to handle her. He also sounded a bit tired, so Alfred figured they also must have had this argument numerous times before.

_"Natalya, we have been over this. The citizens do not know any better! They do not remember a time when we used to be a great and powerful empire! Now, our way of life is dying out, and I will not stand by as we grow smaller and weaker in number every year. We must restore more power to the city if we have any hope of continuing our existence," _Vanya explained to her. Alfred regarded Vanya solemnly. So the reason Vanya had led them here was to get them to help rebuild the city? Natalya only seemed to get madder as her brother tried to reason with her. Her pale cheeks started to flush red.

_"I will have nothing to do with them!" _she spat to her brother. Vanya growled, and for the first time since Alfred had seen him, his face seemed to grow dark and his eyes narrowed. But much to Alfred's surprise, Vanya only smiled at his sister after this display of anger. But something about that smile didn't seem right. Natalya paled as she saw it, all traces of her angry red flush suddenly gone. She looked even paler than when they had first saw them now. Her jaw was still tightly clenched, but it looked as if much of her fight was gone as she regarded her brother.

_"You forget, dear sister, just who is in charge here. If I wish it, they will stay. And no one will argue with my decision. Not even you, my sister. You understand, yes?" _He stated slowly and sweetly. Alfred and Natalya gulped simultaneously. Alfred had even more respect for Vanya now. He knew how to hold his own, which was another trait Alfred admired in other people.

_"Yes, Vanya. I am sorry. I do not wish my dear brother to be angry with me. I love you, Vanya," _Natalya stated quickly, averting her eyes to the floor, suddenly finding her foot wraps interesting. The last sentence seemed very odd to Alfred, even if it was Vanya's sister. Vanya seemed to blanch a little at the last sentence, but his smile never wavered.

_"Angry? I am not angry. This is a happy occasion! We have visitors! We must greet them warmly!" _Vanya clapped his hands together merrily. The guards nodded to Vanya and went off somewhere, presumably to set up things for the new guests. Vanya turned back to the crew and looked straight into Alfred's eyes.

"I am sorry for the... ah... trouble. My sister can be..." he frowned a little, "difficult?" Alfred nodded.

"I understand. No problem, really!" Alfred exclaimed. He really would have said almost anything right then, as long as it meant that Vanya was going to let him look around the city. He wanted to explore so badly it was killing him inside! Vanya seemed very delighted to hear this, and was quickly regaining his good mood as he saw the sparkling in Alfred's eyes.

"Good! My guards are making guest rooms for you! But, for now, you must look with me." Alfred perked up at this. Looking around? Yes, that sounded wonderful! Alfred's face was only getting brighter and brighter as the moments passed.

"Look around? Lead the way! I want to see everything!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. Vanya smiled proudly. He was proud in that his city still inspired awe in others. Even if the empire wasn't as great as it had been thousands of years ago, it was still something to be respected.

"Very good," Vanya said, but then paused as if just thinking of something, before saying, "Oh, but... what will I call you?" Alfred blinked, as if the thought of introducing themselves had completely slipped from his mind, which was exactly what had happened.

"Oh, well, my name is Alfred," He pointed a thumb to himself. He turned back to the crew.

"The one with the huge fur on his face is Arthur, the flashy one is Francis, the tall buff dude is Ludwig, the skinny guy is Feliciano... and... oh! The guy that talked to you before, that was Commander Winter. I believe that's everyone." Arthur shouted as Alfred introduced him.

"I do not have fur on my face!" He exclaimed. Francis chuckled behind his hand.

"Oui, they are more like caterpillars!" he snickered. Arthur rounded on Francis and started to punch the fool out of him. Francis's yelping could be heard all throughout the city.

"Um! You forgot me!" Matthew spoke up softly. Vanya's eyes only flickered to him for a moment before choosing to ignore him. No one else seemed to notice Matthew's presence, and Vanya didn't really care. The sooner they got all of this over with, the sooner that he could show Alfred his great city and people. And also, he had many questions to ask Alfred, and not to mention going to the shaman for answers about the mark that had appeared on Alfred. And his new visitors needed new clothing. They all looked very dirty and odd in what they had on. Vanya's mind was going a mile a minute thinking of all the things that needed to be done. There was just so much!

"Alfred..." Vanya nodded as he said Alfred's name, saying it slowly in order to get the pronunciation right. Alfred's face lit up even more than it already was, which was a feat in itself. Soon, he would be able to light up dark passageways with his happiness alone.

"Yup! That's me! And your name is Vanya? Can I call you that?" Alfred asked. Vanya stared at Alfred as he spoke his name with surprising accuracy. Vanya nodded, a little dazed. Alfred had just sounded so nice saying his name.

"You may call me that. I am usually called 'Lord Ivan' or 'Lord Braginski', but you call me Vanya," Ivan nodded again, pleased.

"Cool! And I can help brush you up on your English, while we're exploring, huh? Make it easier for the both of us," Alfred suggested helpfully. Arthur snorted.

"English he says. Your nation's bastardization of the language, you mean," He said somewhat bitterly. Alfred rolled his eyes. Ivan's eyebrow's furrowed in confusion, and he looked quite adorable. Alfred caught himself this time and mentally slapped himself. 'Whoa there!' He thought, 'Keep your head in the game! No need for all that!'

"Just ignore Arthur, Vanya," Alfred said to the man, "He's just jealous he isn't as awesome as me because I'm American." Arthur growled and threw his hands up in the air before stomping off, steaming.

"Amerikan?" Ivan asked, pronouncing the 'c' very harshly, like he thought it was spelled with a 'k'. Alfred nodded.

"Yup. It's what they call all the awesome people up on the surface," Alfred explained to him. Ivan nodded, believing ever word he said with an almost childish look of curiosity on his face. He wanted to know about Alfred and the surface just as much as Alfred wanted to know about him and Atlantis. The crew all split in separate directions, exploring the city on their own, and Alfred looked to Ivan excitedly.

"Well, let's explore!"

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><p>And that's all! I hope you weren't disappointed. There was just so much detail to write and stuff, that even though not a lot actually happened, there was still so much detail. I had to decide to stop somewhere! Next chapter will be nice, we'll get to meet the shaman and some of my own unique plot threads will start to appear. Please review! It puts a smile on my face to see people are happy with my work.<p> 


	7. Chapter 6 Connection

Here is the next chapter just for you guys! I'm pretty pleased with it, if I do say so myself. Thank you for all of your reviews, alerts, favorites and all of that! Special thanks to FanfictionLover, who's comments make me smile whenever they decide to comment. Well, all of them do, really. Thank you so much! Now, with all of that out of the way, enjoy this next chapter who's characters I still don't own!

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><p><em>Chapter Six<em>

Alfred practically leaped out of the throne room and it reminded Ivan so much of an eager little puppy. Alfred couldn't even contain his excitement, bouncing around Ivan, who seemed to be walking too slow for his tastes, pointing at things, and babbling. Just all around being like a little kid in a candy store.

"Where are we going first? What are we going to do? OH! I just remembered! I have questions about your culture! Oh, were do I even begin?" Alfred was prattling on. Ivan regarded the man with smirk. Did the kid ever calm down?

"Very well. I also have questions. So we will take turns then, yes? You will ask one and then I will ask one, and so on," Ivan suggested as he started to lead Alfred through the half crumbled city. People were everywhere in stalls and walking around buying and selling items in the more central part of the city. As you neared toward the edges, the people had built piers so that they could fish and hunt for aquatic animals. Alfred perked up from his rambling. Ivan steered Alfred through the crowds, talking with him as they walked so that they wouldn't waste any time. He wanted to hear much from Alfred, but there was also another matter that he had to look into, and he wanted to reach the shaman's hut sometime today as well.

"Oh, that sounds good, then! Ok, my first question..." Alfred paused to think about what he wanted to ask the most, "Ok, here it is! How did your city end up down here?" Ivan heaved a great sign and thought of what he should say. There was much that he really didn't remember. He was just so panicked at the time and then, distraught after Katyusha was taken...

"Well, let me think... ah... all I remember was that the sky was getting very dark, and I clearly remember thinking of how the clouds had looked so angry. I remember seeing the great wall of water. Back then, the Great Crystal was still floating above the city, and I remember it was especially bright that day, and there were people shouting everywhere and running... I and my sisters were running. And then... I remember a great beam, and my eldest sister was taken by the Crystal. And then, suddenly, a great wall of light was just surging all around us, and then... I must have passed out. I do not remember much after that, but waking up down here, with Natalya clutching to me," Ivan recounted from whatever he could remember of the day. Alfred stared at him with wide eyes.

"So, you're saying that you... were actually alive when that happened? You were there? But, that would make you... hundreds... thousands of years old!" Alfred was waving his arms by the end of his speech. Ivan nodded, and couldn't help but chuckle a little, especially as Alfred's mouth started to hang open in shock.

"Yes, that is correct. Now, for you, a question. Where are you from?" Ivan was particularly interested in this. Alfred blinked.

"Well, you know that I'm from the surface, but specifically..." He sighed, "Well, I don't really know exactly where I was born, and me and grandpa were always travelling... But I think he mentioned that I was born in New York. I know that I was there for most of my younger years... But I'm really not sure..." At Ivan's confused look, Alfred remembered that he had to elaborate a bit more.

"Oh, yes, well, there six continents on the surface, and I'm from a continent called 'North America'. The country I'm from in North America is called America," At this, Alfred pushed out his chest with pride, "America is made up of fifty states. New York is one of them, on the east coast of the country." Ivan nodded his head, taking in the information.

"It's not an empire like yours, the government isn't the same either. We don't have an emperor, but we, the people, elect presidents instead," Alfred continued. Ivan crossed his arms.

"I see," He said simply. Alfred pushed on.

"America is the strongest country on the surface, and because of that, we're the only country that's called a 'super power'," He said with importance. It was very clear to Ivan how much Alfred's country meant to him.

"A super power, you say?" Ivan asked interestedly. Alfred nodded.

"Yup! The best country there is! We get so many immigrants from other countries wanting to come to ours! It's unreal!" Alfred boasted.

"Very well, your next question then," Ivan said, knowing that if he didn't intervene, that Alfred would keep talking about his America for as long as he wished. There were other things that Ivan wanted to know. Alfred immediately went back to pondering his next question. Ivan rather liked the silence.

"Ok, so, you mentioned a Great Crystal? What exactly is that?" Alfred asked. Ivan once again had to order his thoughts together. He himself wasn't exactly sure about what the Great Crystal actually was.

"Well, from what my people have studied, it is a great, massive crystal that, before the flood, had floated above our city. The Great Crystal itself is only a mere fragment of what we called the 'Will of the God's'. It is unclear of where the Crystal originated. For as long as my people can remember, we have approached the Great Crystal whenever a child has been born. The Crystal shines its light upon them, giving them it's blessing, and then, a piece of the Crystal is presented to the child, forever linking it to the Great Crystal. We also know that the Great Crystal holds many wondrous powers. We as Atlantians are able to wield some of it with our crystals that it has given us. The power of healing is one, as you have observed, and it also gives us the longevity of the Crystal." Here, Ivan stopped and sighed greatly. Alfred tilted his head.

"Ever since the flood, however... the Great Crystal seemed to have disappeared or went into hiding or something... It no longer floats above our city, as you can see," The two of them looked up at the empty sky above the city, "and because of this, the people have not been able to receive the Crystal's blessings. They are no longer able to receive crystals, and as such, are dying out very quickly. They would have as you would say 'normal' life spans, which are much, much smaller than those with crystals. The crystals have a sort of... effect on the bodies of those that wear them. We seem to adopt some of the crystal's characteristics. For one, we are cooler in body temperature than those without the crystals. Our hair, eyes, and skin tend to be lighter in shade as well. It causes me great pain to see our numbers dwindling so. And then, every year, it seems that my own crystal looks a bit dimmer than the last..." Ivan fiddled despairingly with the crystal that hung around his neck. It was a sight that made Alfred's chest clench. He couldn't just ignore these people in their time of need! He wouldn't! His hero instincts started to swell inside of him. He wouldn't leave this city until he figured out how to help them, of that he was sure.

"Don't worry, Vanya," Alfred spoke determinedly, "I will help you and your people in any way I can. You can trust me on that." He flashed a dazzling smile at Ivan. It wasn't like one of his cocky smirks or cheesy wide grins. It looked like... a smile. A genuine smile filled with promise, warmth and light. Ivan stared at that radiant face, and almost ran into a stall because of it. He managed to wretch his eyes away in time and Alfred was also pointing and shouting for him to look out. Alfred apologized to the owner of the stall, but he didn't really need to bother. Behind him, Ivan was smiling again, and not in a very warm way, causing the owner of the stall to start saying it was actually his fault and even giving them something free for their trouble. While Alfred quizzically looked over the fish and wondered what got the man so flustered ('I'm not that scary looking, am I?' he thought) Ivan looked around the street crossing that they had stopped at and smiled as he saw the shaman's hut within view.

"Ah, here, this way," He said, leading Alfred onward. Alfred looked up from the fish in his hand and hurried to follow Ivan to the hut that had been created by draping heavy fabrics over the ruins to create a makeshift, large tent-like structure. It was actually very beautiful the way the fabrics were draped and arranged over the crumbled columns and walls, and the different colors that were used. Ivan pushed aside the drape that acted as the door to allow Alfred inside. When Alfred moved in, Ivan followed. The inside was equally as beautiful. Even though it really hadn't looked like all that much from the outside, the inside was full of hand-carved bookshelves, tables and cabinets. There were herbs and books scattered everywhere, though despite that it all looked very organized. Small chairs and stools were scattered around low tables that were covered in nice tablecloths. There was a little fire going in the center of the tent, and over it hung a black cauldron that seemed to have some stew cooking in it.

There was a thin man of average height stirring and adding ingredients, pausing to taste it every now and then. His hair was long, jet black, and pulled tightly into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His robes were a bit different from the others, as they had long sleeves that almost covered the man's hands. It reminded Alfred of one of the kimonos he had seen once during a trip to Hawaii. The man looked up sharply as he heard Ivan and Alfred coming in, and his brown eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the sight of Alfred.

_"Ivan, what brings you here? And who is he? He does not look to be from around here," _He eyed Alfred's dirty and torn clothes in disgust, _"And he is filthy! You really should have cleaned him up before bringing him here, at least. I wouldn't want him ruining any of my herbs."_ By the end of his speech, he had already crossed his arms tersely and had walked up to Ivan and Alfred. Ivan only smiled at the man's behavior.

_"It is fine, Yao. He will be fixed up later when he and his friends' rooms are prepared. For now, there are more important matters to be discussed," _Ivan replied to him. Yao's face twisted into a scowl.

_"You mean he is not the only one? There are more? What sort of business are you getting into, Ivan?" _Yao inquired testily. Ivan fixed him with a hard stare.

_"Yao, it is not your place to worry about these things. I will deal with them. As I said before, there are other matters that we must discuss," _Ivan repeated slowly, as if speaking to a child. Ivan's persistence stoked Yao's temper and he backed off, not wanting to upset Ivan. Besides, no matter what Yao said, Ivan would only do what he wanted to anyways. It was just the way he was. He never did anything he didn't want. Yao knew that better than anyone. He had tried to get Ivan to find a bride, and had only ended up with Ivan completely ignoring him for weeks, going about his own business. It was always a failed attempt to ever convince Ivan to do anything he didn't want. Alfred looked at Yao with interest as the two talked, quietly putting down his fish on one of the tables while they weren't looking. He really didn't want to carry that thing around all day. He was a lot different looking from most Atlantians that he had seen so far. But then, he noticed that Yao did not have a crystal like Ivan did and then he understood. He didn't have more of the paler complexions because he was born after the flood, and without the Crystal's blessing. Yao looked only to be a couple years older than Alfred, five at the most. And unlike the others, he was probably truly the age that he looked. Ivan turned back to Alfred.

"This is Yao. He is the shaman and best medicine man of our tribe. He comes from a long line of people gifted in lore and understanding the Great Crystal, and also those that study medicine and healing. Yao, this is Alfred." Yao set his eyes back on Alfred and studied him once more. Alfred felt nervous under his scrutiny.

_"Very well, Ivan. What is it that you're really here for, other than introductions?" _Yao asked. Ivan smiled once more. That was Yao, always to the point.

_"Alfred had been hurt when I had first met him, and I healed him," _Ivan explained, _"but something peculiar happened. The healing left a mark on him. I do not understand it, as it has never happened to me before. I was wondering if you knew anything about it." _ This didn't seem to be what Yao was expecting, because he looked very surprised.

_"A mark you say? May I see it?" _Both men turned to Alfred.

"Well, as long as you two aren't going to do some weird ass witchcraft on me, then it's ok. I'm not some sort of experiment, alright?" Alfred huffed, gingerly taking off his prized coat. Amidst his earlier excitement and discoveries, he had completely forgotten to check over it. He took this chance to examine it. He was relieved to find that this shirt had managed to soak up all the blood and that none of it had gotten onto his jacket. 'You're the best, Superman. How could I ever doubt you? Never again, my dear friend,' he thought happily. He set the coat down on one of the tables carefully, and then took off his ruined Superman shirt with something akin to respect. Ivan and Yao exchanged confused looks. What was he doing? Alfred regarded the torn and bloodied shirt after he had removed it, staring at it in his hands. 'Rest in peace, soldier. You did well,' he told it in his mind. Yao's eyes immediately set on his right pectoral, where the intricate snowflake-like marking was still prominent. It was a silvery-blue color and seemed to shimmer in the light.

_"This..." _Yao breathed, _"I cannot believe it..." _He then quickly retreated to one of the bookshelves, and started to look through the various books frantically.

_"What does it mean?" _Ivan asked worriedly. Yao hardly ever got frantic or excitable. It was Yao's nature to be calm, collected and on top of things. So seeing Yao like this was cause for alarm to Ivan. Alfred started to become worried seeing both men like this. He didn't have some sort of deadly disease or something did he? Just his luck that he managed to get some sort of weird 'mark of the communist' that will slowly turn him into a zombie! 'I'm gonna die!' he was screaming to himself by the end of his over active imaginations that were running rampant through his head.

_"I have to confirm my suspicions first, before I jump to any conclusions," _Yao stated quickly, _"KIKU! Get in here! Where is the old manuscript on the Great Crystal?" _Yao called out. From a hidden flap in the back of the tent came out a rather short man with a bowl cut hairstyle, wearing the same type of clothing as Yao. His onyx eyes regarded Ivan and he gave a slight bow, before turning to Alfred and doing the same, though with some measure of curiosity gleaming in his inky depths.

_"The ancient manuscript? I believe it is where you last left it, of course," _Kiku replied easily and softly. Yao huffed and stomped his foot.

_"Yes, I know that, but WHERE exactly is that?" _Yao snapped. Kiku shook his head and fluidly moved back into the flap from which he had come, and then a few minutes later returned with a heavy looking leather bound book.

_"You always fall asleep reading it, and it ends up getting kicked underneath your bed," _Kiku replied simply. Yao rolled his eyes and took the book from Kiku. Calling it a book was really an overstatement. It looked nothing more than many pieces of paper stitched together in-between two leather covers. When Yao opened it, the yellow of the pages could easily be seen. They looked like the slightest touch would send them crumbling, and Yao seemed to take a bit of care flipping the pages, even though he was in a hurry. He mumbled a bit to himself as he scanned through the pages, flipping them and then, finally, after a while of searching he found what he was looking for.

_"Ah! Here it is!" _He turned back to Alfred and Ivan, only to find Alfred looking interestedly at a bottle and about to touch it.

_"No! Don't you dare!" _He was instantly upon Alfred, smacking his hand and scooting him away from everything and sitting him in a chair.

_"Don't touch anything!" _He told Alfred with a sour look on his face, _"Why don't we all just sit down?" _ And with that, he sat down across from Alfred, where he had a nice clear view of anything Alfred could try to do. Ivan and Kiku both chuckled, and Alfred pouted and huffed. He wasn't a little kid!

"I wasn't going to do anything," he said moodily. Ivan sat beside him and Kiku pulled up a stool and sat on Yao and Alfred's sides.

"It is alright, Alfred. He is like this with everyone," Ivan said, trying to calm the blond, though he was making little progress, since he had a very amused grin on his face, which only served to make Alfred more irritable.

"You're just saying that..." he huffed. Yao cleared his throat, and pointed to the book.

_"Do you want answers, or not?" _He asked. Ivan and Alfred stopped talking and looked to Yao immediately, and Alfred started to forget about being angry. When Yao was sure he had their attention, he began to speak again.

_"It appears my first inclination was right. I remember reading from this book here, which is all studies compiled from my family, that there was such a mark that appeared on those that the crystals had touched from time to time. The mark indicated a resonance between the person and the Great Crystal. It appears the Great Crystal uses this mark to identify those that the Crystal can grant unique abilities. The shape of the marking directly relates to the person that owned the crystal that gave them the connection. This indicates that it is used as a sort of bonding mark as well. The abilities the Great Crystal can give the person don't correlate with what type of marking that the person receives. The shape of the marking only indicates who the person is bonded to."_

"What? What do you mean bonded?" Alfred asked. Ivan blinked.

_"This 'bonding', what exactly does it entail?" _Ivan questioned. Yao looked through the book for the answers, scanning through the paragraphs.

_"When someone is bonded and is given a mark, it means that the Great Crystal recognizes a great ability within this person. The mark can only be given to a person by another that the Great Crystal deems worthy of being given power as well. These two are then seen as compatible to the Crystal, and that completes the bonding. What the bonding actually entails... You might have to find this on your own... It only really says that those bonded are compatible, but doesn't actually say what bonding really means for the two people bonded. There are only a handful of people that have ever actually had a mark before, so there really isn't much detail. All we know is, people with marks have received unique gifts." _

"So... it isn't bad then? I'm not going to die?" Alfred asked hopefully. Yao shook his head.

_"No. It is something that is a gift! A blessing! Though really, the only way to receive this gift would be to go before the Great Crystal. That, however, is a bit impossible, seeing as we don't really know where it is anymore." _Alfred's hope died out, and he slumped forward.

"Well, that's just great... I'm marked for an awesome power, and I can't even get it!" He whined. Ivan, meanwhile, was thinking to himself. 'So it only means that we're compatible? Nothing else? Well... even so... He was still given a unique mark that tells others that he is mine, so that will have to do, I suppose,' he thought. He was pretty pleased overall with the results of this mark and its meanings. His fears subsided, and his spirit lifted. He clapped his hands together.

"Now that this is all out of the way, we will take our leave. There is still much that you wish to see, yes, Alfred?" Ivan addressed Alfred. Alfred perked up from his slump, fire already rekindled.

"Oh, yeah! That's right! Still lots to explore!" Alfred turned back to Yao and Kiku as he stood up, stretching, "Thanks for your help, guys! Really glad that this mark isn't some evil curse or something!" he laughed. Ivan couldn't really stop his eyes from wandering over Alfred's washboard chest and smooth stomach, even if he had actually wanted to. It was a very tempting sight, something that drew out some of Ivan's reserves of control like nothing else had ever really done before. It was all he could do to keep himself from reaching out to see if Alfred's skin was as soft as it looked. It looked _very _soft. Yao caught Ivan staring and sighed. Ivan always seemed to crave the things that stuck out and drew attention to themselves. Just like his odd fixation on sunflowers. Alfred looked a lot like one, too.

_"It was really no problem," _Yao spoke, _"I was really doing this more for Lord Ivan anyways." _Alfred shrugged. He guessed this was like the guys way of saying you're welcome, so he brushed it off.

"I'm ready to explore more! Let's go already!" He was the one to yank Ivan out of the hut by his wrist this time, and Ivan was a bit surprised that the man could do so. He was a bit stronger than he looked, it seemed. Alfred suddenly stopped, causing Ivan to bump into his back.

"Oh snap! Totally forgot!" He ran back into the hut to grab his beloved jacket, then came running back out, looking sheepish. Ivan shook his head.

"You are forgetful, I see," Ivan teased.

"No!" Alfred denied, "There is just so much going on right now! It's affecting my thought process." Ivan chuckled.

"If you say so. Come, this way. There are more things to see." And with that, Ivan guided Alfred onwards. They soon came upon the sound of children's laughter, and Alfred looked around the corner to see that there were a few small waterfalls that were created by the water falling off some of the ruins of the city. There were kids happily playing in it, and Alfred chuckled as he saw Feliciano playing with them. He looked in his element among the children, playing games with them and having fun. Ludwig was standing off to the side, just watching. He had a look of peace on his face as he watched them, something that Alfred had not yet seen before.

"C'mon Ludwig, you have to come play with us! The water is just great!" Feliciano pleaded. Ludwig's face had quickly dissolved into a look of apprehension.

"I am fine. I'd rather stay here. You can play as much as you vish," Ludwig replied, as he really didn't want to get his clothes wet. He was really one of the only ones that didn't have torn and dirtied clothing. Feliciano's looked very worse for wear.

"But it's so fun!" Feliciano whined. He turned back to the kids and pointed at Ludwig saying, "He wants to play too! Let's get him!" All of the other kids cheered and followed Feli as he ran towards Ludwig. Ludwig blanched and tried to escape, but Feliciano was a very fast runner, and leaped onto his back, slowing Ludwig down enough that the other kids could latch onto him as well. It was a hilarious sight to watch as Ludwig was dragged towards the small waterfalls by Feliciano and the children like some sort of human sacrifice. He was unceremoniously dunked into the water, and Feliciano and the kids all laughed and splashed him and each other. Rather than becoming excessively mad, however, Ludwig just sighed, before he got up and started to chase the children and Feliciano good-naturedly. The children all squealed with delight as they ran from him. Alfred smiled warmly. He loved children. Ivan was once again staring at Alfred, and could feel his face heating this time, at the beautiful expression on his face.

"The children all love to come here," Ivan spoke up, "It is a great place."

"Yeah, this place is just amazing," Alfred said breathily. It made Ivan's face heat up even more. He'd never felt so warm in his life. It was a good feeling though, a soothing and comfortable warmth Ivan had never experienced before. He knew the cold, and it could be soothing as well, but it felt nothing like this.

"Come with me, there is a special place I wish to show you," Ivan urged, and dragged Alfred away from the playing children. Alfred followed eagerly, wondering what other things there could be to see. As they walked down the streets, they arrived at a scene just in time to see Francis and Arthur walking together (which was really more like Francis stalking Arthur, and the two of them bickering, really) and Francis spotting one of the native Atlantian women. With his signature 'honhonhon', he immediately swooped upon her like a hawk, with Arthur rolling his eyes and scowling behind him. He and Ivan were too far away to really catch what Francis was saying, but they could guess well enough when the woman slapped Francis full on the face and walked away in a disgruntled huff. Arthur immediately burst into a fit of laughter, and pointed at Francis while clutching his stomach. Francis, who couldn't stand the humiliation, rounded on the Brit and tackled him to the ground. They then dissolved into fighting each other, as they always do, with the people around them either staring or walking away and shaking their heads.

"Do those two always fight like that?" Ivan asked Alfred as they walked away from the scene.

"All the time. It's almost like they secretly enjoy fighting each other, the way they are just constantly going at it. I mean, really? How can anyone fight like that _all the time_? I don't understand it," Alfred sighed while shaking his head and shrugging. Ivan nodded.

"Yes, I do not much understand it either," He agreed. They were starting to come to the edge of the city, but this part of it had much more vegetation than the other parts. There were various flowers growing everywhere along the ground and the ruins. There was one stone building that was almost completely intact, though it was a simple structure of just four stone walls and a roof. There was a tattered drape for a door attached to an opening, and from what Alfred had observed of the outside, there seemed to be some holes in the roof of the building. Ivan led Alfred inside, and Alfred couldn't help but gasp as he took in what was inside.

Inside the building, the ground was completely covered with sunflowers of all sizes. There were some dwarf sunflowers as well as sunflowers that were almost as tall as Alfred himself. They were all so vibrant and beautiful and bright. Alfred stared all around him and slowly walked up to one that was eye level with him. He reached out and gently touched its petals. It was an amazing sight, especially the way that the holes in the roof of the building caused the sunlight to dapple through onto the flowers. Alfred spun around to face Ivan behind him, who had a smile that took Alfred's breath away. Alfred could see the joy in those violet eyes, and it made his heart swell.

"This is just amazing," Alfred said.

"This is a place that is special to me," Ivan told Alfred, "It's a place that I like to come to when I want to be alone. It cheers me up. It is hard to be sad with all of these bright little suns around me." Alfred was much like a sun as well, and only made Ivan wish for him all the more, to cherish him as something special to his heart. Ivan hesitated a little before speaking once more.

"You are much like these sunflowers. I find joy when I look upon you as well," he confessed a bit shyly. Alfred's eyes immediately fixated on him with a surprised stare.

"I... I do?" Alfred asked, feeling a happiness well inside him. He did love to be appreciated. Alfred had never really had anyone special to him before. He supposed that he might have been attracted to some girls in high school or college, but those relationships easily fizzled out and never lasted. He never really felt a connection with any of them, and they really hadn't held his interest for very long. He had always been a bit of a loner, but it had never really bothered him, at least, not before. But now, he wished for something like that. And looking into Ivan's violet eyes, he really hoped that he had found that something special.

"Well, then, let's try this thing out then, shall we?" Alfred asked a little bit nervously. He had kissed other girls before, but he'd never really been with a guy, and he had never really had any interest in being overly intimate with others until now... It was just a bit new for him. He hated being unsure of himself, but he could feel that washing away at the look of confidence in Ivan's eyes. It was almost infectious, making him feel confident too. If Ivan wasn't worried, then he shouldn't be either right? And if he really wanted to try this out, then what better way was there to go but head first? His grandfather had always told him that the best things in life were to be leapt into head first, and let the rush take over. And, well, that's exactly what happened. Alfred stumbled forward and had sort of tripped on... something... ok, he was a bit clumsy, so what? and had hastily wrapped his arms around Ivan's neck in a bit of a panic and that's when their mouths had crashed together a bit sloppily. However, even with this little blunder, a fire had started in their bellies, and the kiss seemed all the sweeter for it.

Ivan had set his hands on Alfred's hips to steady him as they closed their eyes and let the world fade away as their lips moved over each other. There was a tingling sensation that started in Alfred's toes and crept up his body, sparking his nerves. All of a sudden he just felt all jittery and antsy and wanting more, and he clenched his hands tighter around the back of Ivan's neck. He couldn't really explain the feeling, even if he tried. Ivan couldn't get enough of this sensation. It felt like he was melting. He felt his world shifting and rearranging. All he knew was Alfred and the warmth. And among the flowers as their only witness, they both experienced the best kiss of their lives.

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><p>Wasn't that just the sweetest little ending right there? Next chapter, the crew will finally be getting some well deserved change of clothes, and a nice feast! Yay! Also, I was thinking about starting another story where Alfred finds out that he has super powers, and I would love it if any of you have any suggestions for roles that the other characters might play in the story. I've been having a bit of trouble thinking of just exactly where some nations would fit into it. So any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated! And thank you again for all the support. Until next time!<p> 


	8. Chapter 7 Ghost

Sorry for the wait, guys! I've been having lots of things to do, and now I'm studying excessively for finals... *SIGH* It's such a drag. But, I'm also feeling a bit guilty because I've been working on the first chapter for another story that I've been thinking about doing. I've been getting excited about working on that story too, and then working on this chapter was just going so slowly... XD But enough of the excuses, I know you want to read! Thank you for all reviews/favorites/alerts! I still own nothing, sadly.

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><p><em>Chapter Seven<em>

Darkness was descending upon the city by the time that everyone returned back to the palace from their separate exploring adventures. Arthur raised an eyebrow when he saw that Ludwig and Feliciano were soaking wet, and Ludwig did like-wise when he saw that Francis had looked like he had been mauled by a baseball bat. Feliciano was blissfully unaware as per usual, and poor Matthew had been forgotten once again. He sighed heavily. Francis and Arthur hadn't even noticed that Matthew had followed them the whole trip! And anytime that he had spoken, the two men jumped and looked around like they had just been contacted by a ghost. Ludwig and Arthur both raised their eyebrows even more as Alfred came in with no care that his shirt had gone completely missing underneath his precious bomber jacket (it was, in fact, being used as firewood in Yao's tent. Rest in peace, soldier.) and Ivan standing so close to him it almost looked like the man wanted to become permanently attached. Of the last fact, Alfred was painfully aware.

Alfred had absolutely no idea how to handle Ivan now, or what to even think of them! They weren't just curious acquaintances anymore, not after that kiss. But Alfred would hardly call them lovers. After all, Alfred had no intention of giving himself up easily, as Ivan still had to prove himself. They were just going steady, and for Alfred, he was testing the waters first before completely committing himself. Alfred had always been unusually cautious about relationships, so his trepidation with Ivan was not special in any way. Though sometimes Alfred jumped headlong into starting a relationship, anything beyond that was considered and weighed in his mind carefully. It had often surprised other women, who figured him to be the kind of guy who wanted to have sex immediately. But, for them to assume that, then it only meant that they really didn't know Alfred that well in the first place. Though Alfred _was_ a brash and wild person, it only came to his activities. Around women, he was actually a complete sweetheart, as he firmly believed in the chivalry that his grandfather had instilled into him. This complete and unexpected kindness had often gotten girls confused that he liked them, and often caused a jealous contention whenever they realized that he extended his courtesies to ever girl he met, which Alfred was generally oblivious to. And then, if Alfred did manage to get into a relationship with one, they always seemed to want to have sex right then and there! And were usually surprised to find Alfred giving any excuse he could to escape.

Alfred was a closet romantic, and more of a prude than people would usually take him to be. Growing up travelling and generally without the company of other kids his age, Alfred had never had any experience with relationships or how to act. The idea of being tied down to one person had, at first, actually terrified Alfred. But as he grew to understand, he realized that if he had ever loved someone, he would guard them with all of his strength, and never let them leave his side. That was just the kind of guy he was. Though he had an air of confidence about him, Alfred was secretly very unsure about himself when it came to relationships, and what his partner thought of him. He was always giving whoever he was in a relationship with gifts and things, and he liked to be told that the other person loved him, and loved any form of endearing praises and sweet whispers that loving couples generally shared. Though it didn't seem like it, Alfred was a bit clingy as a lover, and greatly appreciated anyone that was equally as possessive as him. It didn't seem that he would like it, but it secretly assured him that his partner still had interest in him. Though, of course, there were limits to this, along with everything else. If his partner were to get defensive about Alfred's friends, or became to controlling, Alfred would absolutely hate it. He liked someone only a bit possessive, but never controlling. Most girls didn't understand that, and after a few weeks of both celibacy and Alfred's doting nature, they were ready to call it quits.

At first, Alfred only got girls that saw his wild nature as a challenge, and wanted to 'change' or 'tame' him. But once they realized that Alfred really was already the sweetheart they claimed that they wanted their ideal man to be, they would be ready to leave him, since he didn't offer anything physically to want to keep them there. Alfred absolutely adored holding hands, but anything beyond that required some serious levels of commitment. Though, Alfred was sometimes frugal with kissing, it was usually because kissing someone was just viewed as another adorable little show of affection, and nothing really sexual. The other type of girl that Alfred would attract where the wild, party hard type of girls that saw Alfred's bold and wild nature as a good time, and translated that as to being bold and wild in bed as well. They were also surprised by Alfred's secret nature, and generally dumped him almost immediately, if they had even gotten as far as wanting to be in a relationship. Usually those types of girls only just wanted to get Alfred cornered at a party, to which Alfred instantly became defensive. He hated to be cornered or pushed into anything, and if he was going to make a decision, it was because he wanted to do it. So, anyone knowing this could understand that Alfred had some reserves about Ivan. Sure, the kiss was nothing like he was expecting, _at all_, but that didn't mean he should suddenly turn into a floozy. There was still much that Alfred and Ivan had to learn about each other.

Ivan clapped his hands together as he entered, and the guards stationed in the throne room bowed to him. He nodded, a pleased look on his face, and addressed the crew.

"I'm sure that after such a long day and a long journey that you all want to relax. The rooms I have set aside for you are prepared, and you will be escorted there. There will be clothing for you and you may freshen up as you desire before attending a great feast, after which you can rest to your hearts' content." After Ivan finished his little speech, the guards motioned for the others to follow them, and they all were escorted to their own individual rooms. Matthew was delighted to find that he had a room of his own, fearing that he would be forgotten again and have to try and room with one of the others. He really didn't want to have to go through with that, and then explain why he was suddenly in their room if they caught him there. Ivan must have been in a good mood if he remembered a room for Matthew. Alfred gave a soft yell of excitement as he reached his room and entered through the heavy wooden door into the spacious layout. His smiled widened on his face, and he set his hands on his hips and breathed in deeply like he had just won something. He eagerly scanned the furnishings of the room.

The first thing he noticed was the nice, four post bed up against the right wall, with heavy drapes that could be pulled back as curtains for privacy. Alfred noticed the change of clothes, which stood out from the white sheets. There were all sorts of beautiful tapestries that hung from the stone walls and woven rugs that adorned the stone floor. There was a dresser up against the wall parallel to the bed, and a nice bookshelf directly across from it. Connected by an archway was a bathroom, which simply looked like heaven to Alfred at the moment. It's floor was tiled in a water-themed mosaic, and it had a small waterfall that acted as a shower. The water must have been heated somewhere, somehow, because it was giving off steam. The floor was angled slightly where the waterfall was coming down, because it constantly was flowing both out from the wall and into a drain. The sound of the water was really soothing, and despite the noise, Alfred didn't think that it would keep him up at night. On the contrary, it would probably put him to sleep faster.

Without any possible care in the world, Alfred kicked off his socks and boots and threw off his pants and underwear happily, just letting them be thrown on the floor wherever. He could pick them up later... He quickly went back into the bedroom only to put his precious jacket onto his bed, and his glasses onto the dresser, before running back into the bathroom and leaping into the waterfall.

"Oh, God, this is amazing!" He cried out to no one in particular as the warm water soothed and rushed over him. He let out many contented sighs and moans of pleasure as he washed his hair and body of any grime and dirt. He then managed to notice some soap looking substance that was placed on a pedestal that jutted out from the wall. He didn't really know what the scent was, he wasn't really into all that girly stuff, but he did know that he liked the smell. So he had no qualms about lathering up and washing the suds away. He stretched contentedly in the shower before stepping out and eyeing the towel that was hanging from a bar fastened to the wall in front of the waterfall. He grabbed it up and admired it's softness for a split second before wiping himself off the water on his body. He vigorously dried his hair so that it wouldn't drip water anywhere, and when he was done, he wrapped the nice towel around his waist. With a great huff of triumph, he stepped back through the archway and into the bedroom... only to be scared almost completely shitless as he saw Ivan sitting on his bed with a smug smile on his face.

"HOLY HELL!" Alfred exclaimed, grabbing the towel on his waist defensively, as if it would just magically disappear at any moment. Alfred's sight was fuzzy, but he couldn't mistake that tall, solid looking figure and pale blond blob of hair. Those fuzzy purple eyes seemed to see through his very soul. Or at least his towel.

"I came in to check on how you were doing. Do you like the arrangements?" Ivan asked calmly, as if it was just completely normal to come into someone's room while they were washing and sit there waiting for them on their bed like a complete stalker. Ivan hadn't been waiting very long, really, and despite his growing fondness of Alfred, his intentions were completely innocent. He genuinely wanted to know if Alfred liked his room. Alfred's opinion was important to him. And it gave him time to study Alfred's jacket, which seemed very precious to him. Ivan could understand the sentimentality of clothing very well, as he held his scarf just as sacredly as Alfred did his jacket. Ivan had enjoyed looking upon the odd symbols of the jacket, and the leather had felt very nice. He couldn't stop himself from smelling it once, eyes darting to the bathroom archway in case Alfred emerged at any moment. He almost became addicted and almost couldn't put the jacket down. The smell was that of old leather, pine trees, the great outdoors, and a scent that was unmistakably Alfred's. Ivan had pressed his nose into Alfred's jacket only once more before putting the thing back down behind him, as to not be tempted to steal such a valuable item. It was then that Alfred had ambled into the room, and been scared of his wits.

Alfred scowled at Ivan, a bit embarrassed at being caught vulnerable like this. And though Ivan's reasons for waiting for Alfred were genuine, he could not fight the growing hunger that was ever so slowly starting to shadow his eyes at Alfred's nearly naked form.

"Yeah, yeah, it's amazing, blah, blah, blah, other exclamations of excitement and wonder," Alfred groused, a bit upset at his 'me time' being interrupted. He blinked and squinted as he moved over to the dresser. Seeing the familiar shade of red of his glasses frames, he picked them up and put them on his face in order to give Ivan a better look of irritation. Ivan only smiled that odd closed-eyed smile of his. Alfred watched Ivan warily as he moved over to the bed to take a better look at the clothes that had been laid out for him. The blue of the fabric of the shirt-toga was almost the same shade as his eyes, and there were patterns of golden swirling sun designs sown in. Folded underneath it were some nice, white pants that looked to be made of a sturdy material. There was also a golden colored cord with which to act as a belt as well, with some light brown, soft leather gloves beside it. Beside the bed on the floor were a pair of nice, soft looking light brown leather boots that perfectly matched the gloves. Alfred reached out and ran his fingers over the fabric of the shirt and was a bit surprised at the softness of it. He couldn't stop repeatedly running his fingers over it.

"It is satisfactory, then?" Ivan asked, leaning over Alfred's shoulder and speaking straight into his ear, somehow suddenly right behind Alfred. Alfred gave a _manly _squeak of surprise at the closeness of Ivan's voice and how Ivan's breath ghosted over his ear warmly. Alfred could feel his face heating up and quickly gathered up his clothes.

"Yeah, yeah, fine and all that! I'm gonna change, you better not follow me or else!" Alfred yelled in a flustered voice and ran like a freight train through the bathroom archway. Ivan only tilted his head as he smiled. It was just too easy to fluster the sunny man. And he looked so lovely with that red face. Alfred growled as he waited for his face to calm down swallowed his wounded ego. He'd get that bastard... Alfred looked at the toga-shirt in his hands and frowned.

"How the heck to I put this thing on, anyways?" He mumbled to himself. He figured to start with the pants first, since they were easy, and dramatically flung his towel off. He slipped into the white pants with ease, as they were a tad large, but not enough to be a problem. Alfred had plenty of ass to keep the pants up without the need of a belt. He put his hands on his hips smugly at the fact, and picked the toga-shirt back up once more.

"Ok, so... this looks like a sleeve and... maybe this goes here... but then what about that clasp? And what is this?" Alfred struggled epically with the shirt, trying to figure out the different clasps and were the folds went. Eventually, he got completely entangled and let out a frustrated cry. Next thing he knew, he heard the heavy and rapid steps of Ivan rushing in from the bedroom.

"What is wrong?" He asked worriedly, only to stop and stare at Alfred, who looked like he'd been attacked by the shirt he was trying to wear. He immediately turned around to hide his amusement, but Alfred narrowed his eyes, as he could still hear Ivan's repressed chuckles.

"Hey! Don't laugh at me! I've never worn this type of shirt before! It's confusing!" Alfred whined and tried to justify himself. Ivan merely shook his head and walked up to Alfred.

"Here, it is obvious that you need help with this," Ivan said, starting to help Alfred remove the toga so that it could be put on properly.

"I can figure it out!" Alfred complained, though he did nothing to stop Ivan from helping him.

"Ok, put your arms up," Ivan instructed him, and Alfred did as he was told, a small annoyed pout on his face. Ivan pulled the shirt over Alfred's hands and head, and then pushed Alfred's arms down. He fitted the shirt as it was meant to be worn, with a single strap that draped over one shoulder with a clasp on it, and it looped down under Alfred's opposite shoulder. Alfred had a sneaking suspicion it was made this way to show off the mark that could now prominently be seen on his right pectoral. Alfred shooed Ivan away, fixing and tying the gold cord around his waist himself. He then returned to the bedroom, where Ivan had taken a seat on his bed once more, and folded his arms as he went to retrieve the gloves and boots that were still on the bed. He fitted those on without any trouble, much to his delight, as it would have been too much for him to need any more help. His pride was already mangled beyond recognition. Ivan only smiled as the two exited Alfred's room and everyone gathered together in the throne room before being escorted to the dining hall.

As Alfred looked around, he couldn't help but notice that everyone else didn't have quite as much skin showing with their shirts as he did. 'I bet this is a freaking set up,' Alfred thought to himself moodily. They came into a large room with a high-vaulted ceiling and ornate columns lined along the walls. There was a large stone table centered right in the middle of the room, with dozens of chairs set up. Everyone, even Francis, was in awe by the decoration of this place. There were so many intricate carvings and beautiful waterscapes. Ivan felt pride swell in him and his guests' expressions of surprise and admiration.

"Please, sit where you wish," Ivan offered pleasantly. Alfred gave a loud 'whoop!' and started to peruse the chairs for the best seat. There were chairs all along the length of the table, but there wasn't one at the head and end of the table. Ivan specifically ordered that they be removed just for tonight to demonstrate equality, a gesture he would have forgone had he not known that Alfred seemed to prize this quality. If he put himself on their level, then it would only make Alfred respect him more, he reasoned. He was a bit loath to do it, but there was a small, nagging thought that he would gladly do it if it meant gaining Alfred's affections. It was a thought wholly new to him, this craving he hadn't experienced before. He yearned for those affections, that warm smile directed at him, that Alfred was happy because of something _he _had done. He was not used to wanting to please anyone. If anything, he only ever felt the need to please himself, regardless of what others thought or how it affected them.

That being said, he wasn't exactly selfish, for he did greatly care about the well-being and happiness of his people, but he was rather callous and stubborn about his personal decisions, and did only what he thought was best for himself and never really listening to the advice of others, namely Yao. Yao tried his best to look after Ivan, he really did, but there was only so much he could do without Ivan actually agreeing to anything. And, speaking of Yao, that was the exact person that entered through the hall doors moments after the others had entered the chamber and were deliberating on their seats. He and Kiku had also been invited to this feast, as they were important figures to the Atlantian's culture, being the record keepers and medicine men. They exchanged greetings and introductions respectfully with the crew, and Alfred waved happily at the two men. After this, everyone started to seat themselves. Alfred, even after all of his scrutinizing, just sat down in a seat randomly, too hungry to really care anymore. Ivan moved to sit beside him, oblivious to the fact that someone was already sitting in the seat he'd chosen. A shrill, soft cry of "Maple!" echoed about the room as Ivan sat rather heavily onto the chair.

"Dude, what was that?" Alfred asked, looking around in a bit of a paranoid fashion. It sounded suspiciously like a ghost to him.

"I haven't the faintest clue," Ivan said. Matthew groaned and pushed against Ivan's solid form vainly in an attempt to get him off, or at least to get the man to notice him. Kiku felt pity well up in him, and decided to help the poor man.

"Lord Ivan, may I suggest moving to the seat across from Alfred instead of beside him. That way, you will be able to converse easier," he spoke humbly. Ivan considered the gesture, and to both Kiku and Matthew's relief, got up and moved to the seat suggested. Matthew turned to his savior shyly.

"Thank you so much," he spoke, and was surprised that Kiku actually replied back to him instead of instantly forgetting him again.

"That is quite alright. Are you ok?" Kiku asked in concern, sitting on the other side of Matthew as to guard him from being sat on again.

"Oh, I'm fine now. Really, I'm ok," Matthew assured him. He could have leapt up and jumped in happiness, and he probably would have done so if the action wasn't against his personality. But because he was a subdued person, his happiness was barely recognizable. The seating chart followed as Alfred, Matthew, Kiku, Feliciano, and Ludwig on the one side, and across from them were Ivan, Yao, Arthur, and Francis. They chatted amongst themselves as the food was being brought out, Arthur being delighted in finding Kiku a kindred spirit in the ways of politeness. Kiku quietly talked with Matthew whenever Francis decided to intervene in his conversation with Arthur and cause the two to argue, as per usual. Feliciano and Ludwig talked, which was mostly comprised of Feliciano rambling happily and Ludwig struggling to keep up with him and just nodding when appropriate. Alfred was his usual hyper self, but was actually having a great conversation with Yao in talking about the Atlantian's history, while Ivan simply sat back and enjoyed the child-like expressions that flitted over Alfred's face adorably.

The only thing that could have pulled Alfred away from the conversation was the food that had been set in front of him. There was seafood of all kinds that were being served along the length of the table, so exotic and completely new to the exploration crew. Alfred excitedly asked questions about the food as he stuffed his face, much to Ivan's amusement and Yao and Arthur's annoyance.

"Haven't you been told _any _common etiquette or table manners at _all_?" Arthur spoke, disgust very apparent in his voice.

"Me and Grandpa were always on the move, so we ate on the go. Don't usually eat at the table. I have a bad habit of eating while standing or doing errands and things," Alfred explained to the repulsed Brit through mouthfuls of food that he had no clue about. Alfred was so used to being rushed while he ate, and multi-tasking while he ate, that he picked up some very bad habits, such as talking with his mouth full and making it almost look like he had a personal mission to eat food as fast as he was humanly able. It left all of the people at the table wondering if he was even breathing in air with as much food he was stuffing down his throat. It really looked like he wasn't taking the time to breathe. It was almost fascinating in a repulsive sort of way how he managed to fit so much in his mouth and eat so fast. It was like he was born without a gag reflex, which was almost true. At a very young age, due to the rushed lifestyle he lived travelling so much, he had learned how to suppress his gag reflex in order to eat more at once and conserve precious time that could be used for other things. Such as exploring, making it to airports on time, and saving his food from wild animals (namely monkeys, those sneaky bastards. Always trying to steal Alfred's food. Alfred hated the animal species of monkey with a passion because of these childhood experiences.)

"Never ate at a table! I say, how completely barbaric..." Arthur chastised, completely dumbfounded as to how anyone could live like that and eat the way Alfred did. Yao was sharing similar thoughts. After a brief respite, dozens of beverages started to be served.

"It is tradition that during celebration, we serve spirits at the end of the meal and enjoy ourselves to our heart's content," Ivan stated cheerily.

"I have been waiting for this all day!" Francis exclaimed. Arthur growled and shook his head. The only thing worse than sober Francis was drunk Francis.

"And I look forward to seeing dear Arthur make a fool of himself once again!" Francis continued. Arthur scoffed indignantly.

"I do no such thing!" He argued. Francis 'tsk'ed at Arthur and wagged his finger.

"Ah, mon anglais ami, you forget so easily that you can hold liquor just about as easily as an infant.

"I can hold my liquor just fine, thank you!"

"Your sort term memory is astounding. You do not remember what occurred last time you drank?"

"That only happened because of you! What do you think I would have done when you started to insult the Queen!"

"I only said that I could seduce any woman, to which you replied that your Queen was incorrigible, and I responded that it wouldn't even take a full day for her to succumb to my charms and want to sleep with me!" At that exact moment, Arthur's face became flaming red, and his green eyes beheld a burning fury that rivaled the infernos of hell.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT THE QUEEN LIKE THAT!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, and with a great lunge, he tackled Francis to the ground and proceeded to strangle the living daylights out of him.

"I vote that we not give alcohol to either of those two," Alfred spoke. Everyone nodded in agreement, and eventually Ludwig forced Arthur off of Francis before he really did kill the Frenchman. The angry Brit continued to shout curses at Francis and struggle to continue murdering him.

"My beautiful body has been maimed by that evil Britain and his eyebrows of death! I must be taken care of by gorgeous women in order to recover from this physical and mental trauma!" Francis yelled dramatically. He was ignored and left on the floor. The combined efforts of the rest of the crew barely managed to calm the Brit down again, but eventually his hatred cooled down to a light simmer. The two were escorted back to their rooms before they could cause any more trouble. It was obvious that Francis would never be forgiven. Though, if this was the second time that it had happened, then maybe it wouldn't make that much of a difference. The two were constantly arguing anyways. After that fiasco, the party resumed somewhat awkwardly, with everyone drinking and talking amongst themselves. Alfred almost retched as he first tried the first sip of his cup. By God, it _burned_. The only thing that kept him from doing so was that he would spit out his drink on Ivan, who was sitting right across from him, and the fact that he wanted to show he could hold his own. The truth of the matter was that he rarely drank, ever. He was always too busy with his life and more exciting things. If he ever wanted a buzz, all he had to do was climb into his plane and lift off into the air. That was enough for him. And it lifted his spirits in a way that alcohol could never do.

In college, Alfred had been roped into a few parties that served alcohol, and had only had one or two drinks before he retreated back to his dorm room. He didn't really care for it, and the parties were always so boring. All they ever seemed to do was get drunk to make out and make fools of themselves. Alfred was already enough of a spaz to know that he and alcohol would never mix well, and he wasn't really a big fan of the thought that he wouldn't be in control of his body. His will for freedom and always making choices because he wanted to make them persisted even in this situation. That was why Alfred never drank a whole lot, or took drugs. He liked being in control of himself. And as for the whole making out thing, Alfred had already established that sexual contact in mostly any form freaked him out and made him nervous, so he was even more put off. He was always the first to leave the parties, always the one that drank the least, and always the one that didn't have to worry about the stupid choices that he had made while drunk. Seeing first-hand how ruined some students became only strengthened Alfred's resolve. He had goals he had to live up to, after all, and it wouldn't do to mess them up by going crazy.

If Alfred hadn't already had the thrill of flight and the determination to succeed in the name of his grandfather, he probably would have been like all of those other partiers. Alfred, despite himself, was easily swayed by the opinions of his friends in situations where Alfred hadn't already made up his mind on what course of action he would take, which could be potentially very dangerous. Luckily, Alfred had a lot of cool friends in college that loved the things he did to see him through. He owed them for his abstinence as much as his promise to his grandfather. Namely a boy he'd met in his Studies of Ancient Greece class, Heracles, who was easy to get along with once they had bonded over their mutual love of ancient Greek culture. The only thing was that the poor guy was Narcoleptic, and could pass out at any moment, usually taking small naps every 3-4 hours. The guy was a genius when it came to Ancient Greece, though, so he had passed the class, even with his condition. There was also Elizabeta, whom became his close friend due to their mutual hate of their advanced math classes that they had together. They both had to take math for their majors though, her because of her major of photography and digital photo enhancement on the computer, using lots of different programs. Alfred had to take math due to the different aspects of science that required it, such as Physics, which was pretty important if you were going to launch rockets into space. Her Austrian boyfriend, Roderich, was alright, but he was a music major and so Alfred never really saw much of him, and the two didn't really have anything in common.

Ivan must have seen the brief grimace on Alfred's face, because he chuckled deeply, breaking Alfred out of his revere. He set the cup down and turned his attention to Ivan.

"What?" He asked a bit more edgily than he had intended.

"I apologize if it is too strong for you. We have always had a strong resistance to alcohol, and I was wondering if that was not so for all of you," Ivan explained.

"I don't drink a lot, so I'm not used to it is all! It's not that I can't hold my liquor, it's just that I don't have experience," Alfred defended himself. Ivan found it very adorable.

"They are the same thing, Alfred. Though, your inexperience with alcohol does not surprise me," Ivan replied smoothly, making Alfred huff.

"Whatever..." He mumbled, and took another glass. 'Only one more,' he resolved to himself. Even still, he hoped that Ivan didn't see this as weakness and think any less of him, just because he couldn't handle alcohol well. He really didn't know why it was worrying him, but Ivan's opinion of him was becoming increasingly important to him. But despite that, he really knew that he shouldn't drink too much. 'Besides,' Alfred thought, 'if Ivan doesn't want my sexy body just because I can't drink a lot, then he's the one missing out, not me! I'm plenty interesting enough without being drunk off my ass.' And with that, Alfred nodded and quickly drank his cup so that the burning sensation wouldn't hurt him as much. He sighed, pushing the cup away from him. He could already feel the fog settling on his brain.

Beside Alfred, Matthew was quietly drinking his problems. Was it really so hard for people to notice him? Did he really not stand out at all? He could be exciting too! He was a nice guy, really! The more Matthew thought about it as he drank, the angrier he became. Finally, he banged his cup down and stood up.

"That's it! I can't take it anymore! I won't be ignored! I can be loud too!" He yelled, though it only raised his voice to about average speaking volume. He grabbed his chair behind him and started to wave it in the air madly.

"You guys are all insensitive and never listen to what I have to say! You're always forgetting about me and never considering my opinions or feelings! I have those things too you know!" He started to pant, and set the chair back down. Maybe picking it up and waving it wasn't such a good idea. His arms were very tired now. There was dead silence for a total of three minutes, before Feliciano of all people spoke up.

"Oh my god that chair was moving around all by itself!" He screamed and proceeded to panic and cling to Ludwig, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME THIS PLACE WAS HAUNTED!" Alfred burst out, after which he started to go into panic mode as well and hyperventilate. His breath was erratic and shallow, and he started to sweat from fear. He was extremely phobic of ghosts, and his body was threatening to go into a full panic attack. Matthew could only stare at the scene he caused blankly. Ivan sensed Alfred's distress and immediately jumped over the table to conserve time and grabbed up Alfred in his arms.

"Cover his mouth with something, we need to get his breathing back to normal before his heart rate goes crazy," Yao instructed him, "we should use a bag, or just cup your hand over his mouth, but don't suffocate him." Ivan nodded and fitted his hand like a dome over Alfred's mouth and carried him off to his room so that he could be laid down, Yao following behind. But before he had completely retreated from the room, he shot a cold, menacing glare at Matthew, who for once wished that he hadn't been noticed. Ivan took long strides and quickly made it to Alfred's room, where he laid Alfred down with the utmost care. Alfred clung to the giant unconsciously as his body shook, and so Ivan simply lay beside him instead of trying to pry the terrified blond off of him. Yao watched Alfred with concern.

"We have to try to get him to calm down," Yao spoke. Ivan could only think of what his elder sister used to do when Ivan had been little and still afraid of the dark. To help him sleep, she would always cuddle him and sing lullabies while stroking his hair soothingly. Ivan never had trouble sleeping when she did this, and he hoped that it would help Alfred as much as it had helped him. Ivan reached his arms around Alfred's trembling form and nuzzled Alfred's ear with his nose before speaking softly to him in reassuring tones, bringing one of his hands up to card through Alfred's soft wheat-gold hair.

"Nothing can harm you while I am here, Alfred. I would never let anything happen. You are strong, and never looked into my eyes with fear before. I never want to see you afraid. Such a free and spirited person such as yourself should never be troubled like this. Your happiness is something that should be protected and cherished..." Ivan felt Alfred calm down only slightly, but he was still extremely tense. Ivan then got an idea, and reached slowly into his robe as to not startle Alfred, and pulled out the photograph that he had 'acquired' at their camp back in the caves.

"Just remember this happiness Alfred. The windswept look suits you. I wish someday to cause you as much joy as this." Through Alfred's haze of panic, he barely registered the photo being brought in front of his eyes. His pupils immediately honed in on the comforting image of his jacket, and then the plane, which sent a jolt of excitement and adrenaline through his system just looking at it. It brought instantly memories of flight, and the unparalleled feeling of that freedom. His body relaxed and he sighed, seeming to exhale all stress as his body went completely lax in Ivan's arms.

"Get his leather coat," Ivan spoke softly, and Yao scrambled to do as he said, a bit amazed by the transformation that had taken place. It astounded him how Ivan had completely subdued Alfred so quickly. The familiar feeling of his coat being draped over him sent Alfred into a pleasant haze of sleep and blissful dreams. Ivan handed Yao the photo and instructed him to put in on the dresser, which was immediately followed.

"Yao, go back and tell the guards to take the guests to their rooms. It is late now, and we should all rest," Ivan told him. Yao bowed and left the two. Ivan felt a wave of warmth wash over him, creating a most pleasing sensation as he snuggled closer to Alfred. Alfred instinctively scooted closer as well, and their legs intertwined. Ivan managed to kick both his and Alfred's boots off with his feet, and carefully removed his gloves before gently prying Alfred's fingers from his robe before doing the same for him. His hands were soft and so warm, a warmth that Ivan couldn't get enough of. He pressed himself even closer, and there was no more space left between them. Alfred didn't seem to mind, as he buried his face into Ivan's chest as he slept, his hands clenching onto the robes again. Ivan put his arms back around Alfred and chuckled as he gently removed Alfred's glasses and put them somewhere on the bed space behind him. Ivan drifted to sleep like this, contented and peaceful as the warmth continued to wash over him, and his back tingled with the heat.

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><p>And that was the exciting conclusion of this chapter! I hope that you enjoyed it! Please review, and look out for the first chapter of the new story I'm working on! I love you all, my dedicated fans!<p> 


	9. Chapter 8 Dream

I got the next chapter all written up! Yay! I hope you guys all enjoy the little lime I put in there to tide you over. There probably won't be an actual lemon in here until near the end. I'm bumping up the rating too, because I don't really think that it constitutes just a Teen ratting anymore. Once again, thank you all for the reviews/alerts/favorites! They are much appreciated! Enjoy this fabulous new chapter (in which there are characters that I do not own)!

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><p><em>Chapter Eight<em>

Alfred had started to feel a cool sensation spread throughout his body, like diving into a cold lake. Unbeknownst to the two slumbering blonds, Ivan's crystal was firmly wedged between their bodies, which were tangled together as they tightly held each other. They had unconsciously tightened their hold on each other while they slept, and there wasn't an inch of space between them. Ivan's crystal was now firmly pressed against the skin of Alfred's chest, right below his clavicle, where his shirt didn't cover. As Alfred felt the weightless of a dreamless sleep, the cold sensation seeped through his body, down to his bones. His eyelids were fluttering rapidly and his eyes moved unconsciously beneath them, signaling a deep sleep to any who would have looked at him. His eyes started to glow, the light visible through the thin skin of his eyelids. An unknown power was reaching into his dreams, using his connection to Ivan's crystal to infiltrate his unconscious mind.

Alfred was submerged in the darkness of a dreamless sleep. Then, he started to hear something, a sound that pierced and travelled through space and time like an arrow. The darkness of Alfred's mind started to clear and dissipate like a fog, and white started to stain Alfred's vision, until the pure, blinding white around him was all that he could see. It almost burned his eyes with its intensity. A soft blue light shown from above him, and he looked up to see a giant crystal floating high in the air above him, being orbited by other smaller crystals like planets orbited the sun.

"Greetings, sun child," came a clear, enchanting voice. It was that of a woman's, however, it had a whispering edge to it, like something else was speaking as well, through this voice, as if only using it because it could not speak by itself. Alfred looked away from the great floating crystal above him back down to see a beautiful young woman with short, cropped hair that was a pale blond just like Ivan's, standing right in front of him. Her eyes were glowing with the same blue light that was being expelled by the crystals above them. She gave off a very distinctive presence, almost other-worldly, and Alfred felt the overwhelming need to bow to her in respect.

"It seems you have some instinct after all", she chuckled, "I am the collective 'spirit' or 'god of the great crystal you see before you. A being made from the souls of all those that have died before, as well as elements of eternity. I am bound to this body if I had any chance of wanting to speak with you, as my other forms can be... _overwhelming_ for mortals to behold. It'd be too much for your mind to bear." The ancient being smiled fondly at Alfred.

"You... wanted to speak with _me_?" Alfred asked, genuinely surprised. The being nodded.

"Yes, child. You are the key to unlocking the path back to the great crystal, in order to save my people. However, I came to warn you that there will be a price to pay for the use of the crystal's power. I see in your heart that you care for the fate of my people greatly, and because of this I am able to bond to you, just as I would to those native of me. You are a unique vassal, one that would surely give great power to the crystal should it ever be necessary for it to use you. After all, one does not use the crystal's greatest powers consciously. The crystal seeks souls that can use their powers out in times when they are needed," it spoke knowingly and thoughtfully.

"This power that I have... what is it exactly? And what is this price you're talking about?" Alfred asked. The being nodded.

"Yes, there is much to explain. The power of the crystal is great, and only certain _special _souls can unlock certain pieces and fractures of its abilities. All of my children are granted basic powers, such as healing, and benefit from being in contact with the crystal by gleaning some of its longevity from it. However, there are far greater powers that it possesses, and very few are able to handle wielding such forces. You have a power that is both very nurturing, and also very destructive. The sun provides light and warmth it it's children, and aides in giving every living creature and plant life. However, the sun is also destructive. It is made of fire, a volatile element. The sun can burn with its intensity, and it will harm and even kill those that do not take proper care in dealing with its double-edged heat. And... as for the price.." the being paused then, debating on what information to reveal and what to keep hidden.

"I believe," it said slowly and carefully, "that your friend, my child Vanya is the most familiar with the cost of the crystal's power." The answer caused Alfred's eyes to go wide in shock.

"However, you will learn in due time the cost. I cannot reveal too much, as to disturb the hands of fate. Though most things are dictated by probability and chance, there are some things that cannot be changed. Death is one, and also, pivotal events that shape the future, unavoidable courses of action. But always remember that there are things that are not for certain," The being gave a coy, wise smile, "I believe that if there is anyone that can turn tides and beat odds, it is you, my little sun child." The deity paused once more, and Alfred knew it was because it was waiting for the question next question in Alfred's mind.

"Just one more thing I wanna know," Alfred said. The being nodded with a warm smile on the woman's face, projecting what the deity inside felt. Alfred could sense more than he actually knew that this body was not the deity's and it was only being borrowed. There was no way to tell if the deity was even really female, or had a gender at all. The voice that it used was borrowed from its host, and only female because of this.

"About this whole bonding thing... is there anything you can tell me about that?" Alfred asked curiously.

"Yes," the deity said, chuckling, "the bonding and the marks. They are a small gift of my own design. Particularly strong souls have a tendency to bind to one another, especially great powers that are opposites. They force each other into balance, like yin and yang, and cannot help but be drawn to one another. Though, I'm sure one such as you could resist this pull, but I doubt that you particularly want to." There was a knowing edge to its voice.

"Opposite powers, huh? So, does that mean that Vanya has a power too? The opposite... and if I'm fire, then that means that he's water or something?" Alfred asked, tilting his head to the side as he thought aloud, his hand coming up to his chin to rub it thoughtfully.

"Close. You are fire, yes, but as the sun, you are more concerned with heat, as your flames do not reach the Earth's surface. Heat are the only affects of the sun that are felt. As such, your opposite is not water, which would be the element, but cold, which is the effect. Vanya has the power of cold. He is like the great iceberg the sun's heat beats against, but can never seem to melt. There is usually always a greater pull on the cold to find the warmth, than the warm finding the cool. This is because even though the sun is deadly, it nurtures as well. Cold only brings death." Alfred's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head vigorously.

"That's not true! Despite that... I believe that it can be good as well! You spoke of moderation with my power, yeah? Well, it's the same with him! Cold can be used to numb and sooth pain. It has the ability to be comforting, and even in death, it is peaceful. It's a hell of a better way to go that to be fried to death, that's for sure! Cold is a much better way to go. It's like you're falling asleep..." Alfred spoke this with conviction, determined to show the good in his friend. He _knew _the good in Vanya. After all, Vanya had healed him when they'd first met, even though he could have left him there to bleed to death. And how could Alfred ever think that Ivan wasn't good with the pure happiness he had seen at the sight of those beautiful sunflowers in the ruins? And then, Alfred had remembered violet eyes piercing through the nightmare of his panic attack, and Ivan's soothing voice telling him that he was going to be ok, before Alfred had remembered one of the days that he had flown in his plane, and was brought instant relief from the horrible thoughts that had plagued him. Those violet eyes had been so full of worry and compassion.

'I really think I could fall in love with this guy. When I think about him... It feels like flying, a sensation I can never get enough of. If that isn't a good sign, then I don't know what is!' Alfred thought.

"Yes. You speak some truth. Your honesty and sincerity greatly please me, little sun. The great pull of opposites brought you two together, and it is my personal belief that there aren't any two other beings more right for each other. The markings are only a physical manifestation of the bond that you share, and you each bear the marking of the opposite's power, like the small piece of yin that is within yang, and the small piece of yang that is within yin. Because there is nothing in this world that is completely one or the other," the deity concluded. Alfred nodded his head in understanding.

"Yeah, that makes sense," He said to himself.

"I'm glad that you think so. But, before I send you back to the conscious world, there is someone that would love to speak with you." Alfred tilted his head to the side curiously. The blue light then faded from the woman's eyes, and she blinked rapidly before regaining her senses. They were a beautiful pale blue. When she saw Alfred, tears started to well up in her eyes, making them look dewy and wet.

"Oh! Hello! I've so wanted to meet with you! My name is Ekaterina, or Katyusha as my brother calls me. You may call me Kat as well, any of them are fine, really!" Alfred chuckled at her babbling, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Ok, Kat, calm down. It's all cool," Alfred told her. She nodded.

"I just wanted to thank you for taking care of my brother Vanya. He gets lonely so very easily... but I know he'll be fine now." She gave Alfred a warm smile, before tears started to come back again.

"A-and... please tell him... th-that... THAT I MISS HIM! And, I l-love him!" She cried out, starting to weep in earnest, tears spilling down her cheeks. Alfred panicked, not knowing what to do in this situation, and not having a single clue how to go about calming down the woman.

"Oh, please, no need to do any of that! It's fine, really! I'll make sure to tell him, yeah? After all, that's what heroes are for! Making the men, women, and children smile! So turn those tears into cheers!" Alfred started to spin of what ever came to the top of his head, patting the woman's back in what he hoped was a comforting way. She immediately grabbed him into a tight hug, practically suffocating him with those... _things_. 'These things can't be normal!' Alfred thought as he was smothered.

"Oh! Thank you so much! You're so nice! I'm so glad that Vanya found someone like you!" She exclaimed, hugging his head tightly against her bosom. Alfred waved and flailed his arms around as he started to suffocate, frantically trying to pry her off so that he could breathe.

"Oh! S-sorry..." She let him go, finally, and he sucked in a large breath of air.

"Thank you again," she spoke, bowing, "I have to go now. Hopefully, we may see each other again!" She stared to fade, though whether it was because she was leaving his mind, or just because his vision was starting to blur, he couldn't tell. His vision steadily was bleeding from white to black, sending back into the darkness before he fully woke. The first thing he noticed, as his senses slowly returned to him, was the contrast of warm and cold on his skin, creating a pleasant feeling. The second thing he noticed was that he was curled up in something soft, and he was straddling something... maybe a pillow? Then, he started to open his eyes, his vision blurry, both from sleep and because he didn't have his trusty glasses. He could see the faint blue glow of Ivan's crystal and the contrasting colors of Ivan's colorful blue toga-shirt thing and the pale pink color of his scarf, which his face was almost completely pressed up against.

It was then that he registered that Ivan was holding him, and it was Ivan that he was straddling. It made him flush with embarrassment, his face heating up in record speed, his face coloring red all the way from his cheeks and ears down to his neck. He started to try and detangle himself to save further embarrassment, but it only made Ivan groan and clutch him tighter and pull him closer as he roused from sleep.

"Vanya!" Alfred whined, "Wake up! You're going to crush me, you big bear!" Ivan growled and nuzzled the side of Alfred's head, burying his face into the soft golden strands and grazing his nose over Alfred's flushed ear, warm with the heat of his distress.

"No," Ivan stated simply and firmly, content to continue cuddling Alfred, not moving to get up or give Alfred even an inch of space.

"C'mon! I have something special to tell you!" Alfred teased. Ivan, curious, opened a single violet eye sleepily and scooted away just enough so that he could peer down at Alfred's face without detangling his arms or unwrapping Alfred's legs. Despite all of Alfred's complaining, he had yet to remove his hands from clutching the front of Ivan's shirt.

"And what would that be?" Ivan asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Alfred paused, unsure as to how he could best explain everything.

"Ok, so," Alfred started, taking a deep breath, "I had this really weird dream, and I saw this girl that told me she was your sister and her name was Kat... Ka... Katyusha, or something? Anyways, she told me to tell you that she misses you a lot and loves you and stuff," Alfred blurted out in a rush. Ivan completely froze, and Alfred could feel his muscles tense into complete stillness. Both eyes were now completely open as he stared down into Alfred's face in shock.

"What? H-how do you know Katyusha?" he whispered. Alfred leveled his gaze directly into Ivan's eyes as he spoke again, bringing his hands up to gently hold Ivan's cheeks so they wouldn't break eye contact.

"I told you, she came to me in my dream," Alfred repeated, slower this time. The two men lay in silence for a long time, neither speaking or breaking their gazes from one another. Finally, Ivan cleared his throat, and Alfred could feel him shaking just slightly.

"Alfred... this is... I do not know what to say. You do not know how much joy these words bring me. I cannot express it." Ivan pulled Alfred close again and rested his head on the crown of Alfred's for a few moments. After a small time, he lifted his head again and pushed them apart enough so that he could bend his face close to Alfred's. He closed his eyes and sighed softly and started rubbing his nose against Alfred's, causing Alfred to giggle, his flush of embarrassment now only a faint pink tint that was barely noticeable against his tan skin. Ivan just reminded him of a big fluffy teddy bear. Alfred scooted upwards a little to be able to peck Ivan on the nose. Alfred absolutely _loved _to cuddle and liked the attention and basking in the warm, comfortable feelings it brought for him. It was always so hard to find someone that wanted to cuddle as much as he did. So you can imagine that he was delighted in all of this affection, hardly ever feeling so loved in his life.

Ivan was practically purring as he moved in to delicately press their lips together. As their lips moved in a wondrous dance, feeling as if they were melting together, Alfred moved his hands from Ivan's face to settle at the base of Ivan's neck over the woolen material of his scarf, ever so delicately rubbing and tracing patterns on it with his fingertips. Ivan moved his own hands slowly downward to untie the golden cord wrapped around Alfred's waist with care, giving Alfred plenty of time to back out and stop if he wanted to. Alfred slowly, hesitantly, moved his hands underneath the knitted scarf to stroke the back of Ivan's neck with soft fingertips, his palms gently rubbing against the sides of Ivan's neck. Ivan's purrs turned into deep, rumbling, pleasurable growls at the massage his neck was receiving. It had always been an extremely sensitive area for him, and Alfred was touching it in all the best of ways.

Ivan moved his hands underneath the fabric of Alfred's shirt once the cord had been untied, removed, and tossed carelessly somewhere. He pressed his palms to Alfred's smooth stomach gently, admiring soft skin before sliding his hands upward, across smooth planes covered with soft baby-fine, barely-noticeable blond hairs, memorizing every inch. Alfred couldn't stop the soft sigh of pleasure that ghosted past his lips as he exhaled and broke their kiss. The sound sent small shivers down Ivan's spine. He moved his head downward to nuzzle Alfred's neck, nose grazing Alfred's shoulder affectionately. He started to rub his palms in circles over Alfred's nipples, creating a delicious friction with his calloused skin. Alfred's breath hitched, and he could feel his heartbeat accelerate. Ivan felt the increase as well through his right hand. He groaned at the feel of the heart's rapid pulse just beneath his fingertips, and pressed his lips firmly to the sensitive skin of Alfred's neck and shoulder.

He started to pepper and trail kisses up and down the area, and Alfred couldn't contain his sighs and soft moans. Ivan ever so gently rocked to the side in order to push he and Alfred from their sides, Alfred's back now fully pressed against the bed while Ivan hovered over him, putting his weight onto his knees and bending his large torso over Alfred like a dome. Both men felt pleasure jolt through them as their groins had grinded together because of the motion, and Alfred had even cried out softly. Ivan was mesmerized by that voice and stopped his kissing in order to suck on Alfred's neck instead. He moved his hands off of Alfred's chest causing a soft whine from the blond beneath him, to which he couldn't hold back a chuckle. Ivan's hands instead settled on the clasp of Alfred's pants, but Alfred moved his hands quickly from Ivan's neck to rest his on top of them.

"I... I don't think..." Alfred started to say, but Ivan moved his lips from Alfred's neck to Alfred's own lips, kissing him deeply. He relented from Alfred's pants, only to move down and rub Alfred's groin instead, causing Alfred to jolt back from the kiss and arch his neck backwards, crying out, and his back arching upwards.

"V-Vanya!" He exclaimed in both surprise and arousal, his grip on Ivan's wrists tightening into a death grip. Ivan let out a moan at the sound of his name spilling so affectionately from those lips, so cherry red from the kissing. He nipped at Alfred's jaw line as he continued his torturous ministrations. Alfred's hands moved from Ivan's wrists to clutch Ivan's shoulders, and he moved his face away from Ivan's to press his face against Ivan's scarf. He nuzzled it and pulled it out of the way with his teeth, causing Ivan to groan once more at the sight. Alfred attacked the sensitive and now unprotected skin of Ivan's neck, sucking on the flesh and running his tongue sensually over Ivan's Adams apple. Ivan growled with lust and grabbed Alfred's wrists, pinning them above his head. He then ground their erections together through the fabric of their pants, causing the both of them to cry out with the intense pleasure of the action. Ivan's pet name spilled from Alfred's lips over and over like a mantra, with Ivan grunting Alfred's name every so often as they each buried their faces in each other's shoulders, Alfred's powerful thighs gripping Ivan's waist like a vice.

"Vanya, I can't-!" Alfred started to exclaim when Ivan pressed their lips to each other savagely, drinking up Alfred's words and his moans like the finest wine. They could feel each others' release coming in the way the both tensed and Ivan hastily brought his arms around Alfred's waist to hold him close, while Alfred wrapped his arms around Ivan's neck, each pressing each others' sweating bodies together in an attempt to meld themselves into one as they rushed into completion. Tears actually started to prickle at Alfred's eyes with the immense feeling of it, never having experienced anything like it before in his life. Ivan rolled so that he collapsed at Alfred's side, and Alfred rolled over so that they could look into each others' eyes, both shining with affection and bliss. Ivan smiled softly as he rubbed their noses together, Alfred sighing affectionately at the action, letting his own smile start to split across his face. Alfred's expression then suddenly became bashful.

"T-thanks, you know, for uh... stopping when you did," Alfred mumbled. Ivan pecked Alfred's nose much like Alfred had done to him earlier.

"You weren't comfortable with that yet, so I didn't want to rush it. After all, that will make it all the better when it actually happens, yes?" Ivan told him with a mischievous grin. Alfred flushed a pretty scarlet color from his ears to his neck once more.

"For all you know, that could take a really long time! Don't push your luck mister! Would you be able to handle that?" Alfred asked, half in mock-anger, half in truth. This was the farthest he had ever gone with anyone already, and it was skirting very dangerously to the edge of his comfort zone. Alfred had put off many a relationship prospect by being insistent to wait until he was ready and comfortable for the next step in their physical relationship. Alfred wondered if Ivan could really handle waiting for when Alfred was ready, however long that may take. Ivan only smiled in response.

"I am not too worried. After all, with just this, I have been sated more than having actual sex with others. Even though it makes me eager for more, I know that it will be best when you are ready. And I will happily wait for that day. Besides, you entertain me in other ways besides physically," Ivan spoke honestly, making Alfred's heart swell up.

"You really mean that?" Alfred asked, in a rare show of uncertainty and doubt, to which Ivan narrowed his eyes and pressed their lips firmly together before speaking again.

"If I hadn't meant that, or felt that way, I would not have headed your wishes and forced you to my will. Know that I intend to wait, and do not doubt me." He pressed their lips together again and they shared a passionate kiss before parting again.

"Well, now that this is all out of the way," Alfred spoke, "I'm SO hungry right now. So get out so I can clean up! I want to go down and get breakfast!" Alfred shot up out of the bed at this, the only thing able to tear him away from cuddling being the prospect of food. Ivan only shook his head before getting up as well.

"The drawers were stocked with clothing before you were showed to you rooms. You may pick something out from there. I will go and clean myself as well, and we will meet up back at the dining room, yes?" Ivan asked. However, Alfred had already strolled into the bathroom, shouting a "Yeah, sure, ok, whatever!" Ivan rolled his eyes before exiting, leaving Alfred to his own devices. Once Alfred had discarded his clothing and washed himself off, taking a minute to once again just stand underneath the warm spray of the waterfall, he grabbed a towel off the rack and washed himself off. He wrapped the towel around his waist, before cautiously peeking out into the bedroom. He didn't want to be caught off guard a second time! Seeing that his room was Ivan-free, he merrily strode in and crouched in front of the drawers in order to pick out something to wear. He settled on a white, tunic looking shirt and light-brown leather pants, which matched the gloves and boots he had worn previously. Nodding his head confidently, he quickly dressed and burst out of his room and down the halls at full speed, wanting to eat breakfast as quickly as possible.

Alfred rounded a corner, and almost barreled straight into Matthew, who was just emerging from his own room. If it weren't for Alfred's quick reflexes, the two would have crashed and sent spiraling onto the floor.

"Whoa! Hey there! Didn't see you... uh... Mattie?" Alfred said, saying the name a bit hesitantly, as he couldn't bring himself to remember the guys name for the life of him.

"Oh! Hey there Alfred!" Matthew exclaimed in surprise. 'Big surprise he didn't see me...' Matthew thought sarcastically. He immediately took on a guilty look as he remembered the night before.

"Oh, and um... I'm very sorry about what happened yesterday..." He started to apologize. Alfred adopted a blank look.

"What now?" Alfred asked bluntly. 'He doesn't remember?' Matthew thought to himself.

"Oh... uh... nothing! I remembered something else and got confused, yeah!" Matthew said, laughing shakily and rubbing the back of his head. Alfred totally bought it.

"Oh, no sweat man, really! You ready for breakfast?" Alfred asked, starting to walk in the direction of the dining hall, a renewed sense of purpose welling within him. Matthew started to walk beside him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry..." Matthew spoke softly.

"No kidding, dude! I'm STARVING! I really hope they have something like pancakes and syrup down here!" Alfred exclaimed excitedly, rubbing his empty stomach, "It's my favorite thing for breakfast!"

"You like pancakes and syrup?" Matthew asked, eyes glittering. That was his specialty back in Canada!

"Yeah man! Practically the only thing that I wanna eat for breakfast, usually! I've had to make it myself so much, that I've gotten to be a master at making them! I know pancakes and maple syrup as well as I know every inch of my glorious naked body!" Alfred laughed and interlocked his fingers behind his head as he walked. Matthew gulped and looked at Alfred in mild disgust.

"T-that's nice... I guess..." He answered uncertainly, "I know how to make them pretty well, too." Alfred's eyes lit up.

"REALLY! Cool! It's good to find a kindred spirit in the ways of pancakes!" Alfred exclaimed, bringing his hand out for Matthew to shake. Matthew took it gingerly, to which Alfred clutched it hard and started to shake his hand vigorously, and Matthew was afraid that Alfred would dislocate his shoulder.

"If they don't know how to make them, then you and me should totally invade their kitchen and cook some up for everyone!" Alfred continued on merrily, completely oblivious to the shaken and rattled look of his companion.

"Y-yeah... that sounds like fun..." Matthew spoke, scooting just a few inches away as to be prepared if Alfred suddenly attacked him again. Alfred grinned cheekily and the two of them entered the dining room together. Mostly everyone was already there. Arthur and Kiku were having a nice, civilized conversation on gardening. Ludwig was enjoying some time alone while Feliciano, Alfred suspected, was oversleeping. His eyes immediately went to Ivan and Yao, who were talking over something quietly. Alfred strolled up to the two merrily as Matthew went to sit beside Kiku, who bowed politely at him. Matthew was quite overjoyed at this.

"Hey! What's up!" Alfred asked as he approached. His eyes strayed to Ivan's half-turned back, and immediately caught something gold colored on Ivan's skin just where his white, long sleeved tunic dipped down between his shoulder blades, as the collar was very wide, and his scarf didn't hang low enough to cover.

"Huh? You got some sort of tattoo on your back?" Alfred asked quizzically, tilting his head to the side. He hadn't seen it before, since his other shirt had covered up all of Ivan's back.

"No, I do not have anything on my back," Ivan stated, a look of confusion spreading onto his face. 'Well, there aren't any mirrors in this place, as far as I've seen, so Vanya may not know that there is something there?' Alfred thought to himself.

"Another mark has appeared?" Yao suggested, "It seems a bit strange that it would, though, since Alfred doesn't have a crystal and isn't even Atlantian."

"Oh! It only means that his powers and mine are opposites and that we're drawn together!" Alfred exclaimed, remembering what the deity had told him in his dream before. Ivan and Yao both stared at Alfred as if he had suddenly combusted spontaneously into flames.

"How do you know this?" Yao asked, making a step closer to Alfred.

"Eh? Oh, I just remembered this great being thing telling me this stuff in my dreams. Uh, it said that it was some sort of 'spirit' of the great crystal or something, and was using Kat's body so that it could speak with me. And after we talked was when Kat was allowed to talk to me so that she could tell me to say hi to Vanya for her," Alfred explained happily. Again, Ivan and Yao could do nothing but stare at the blond.

"What! You mean you were actually _contacted_ by the _great spirit_?" Yao asked in surprise and amazement. Alfred tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah?" He stated simply, seeming to be unaware of just how important this discovery was.

"Did it tell you where the great crystal was? What other information did it reveal?" Yao started to ask Alfred questions eagerly. Alfred held up his hands.

"Whoa! Calm down there buddy! One question at a time here. Uh... It didn't really say where the great crystal was, only that I would be able to help you guys find it. And the other information..." Alfred became thoughtful at this, "It just explained that I had the power of the sun or something, and that Ivan's power was the exact opposite, and that's why we naturally gravitate towards each other. His is something to do with the cold. I remember that." Alfred chose to leave out the part about the cost. He wasn't sure why, but there was a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach when he thought about it, and he just felt like he shouldn't bring it up. Yao nodded his head eagerly, soaking up the information like a sponge.

"I see!" He spoke, brown eyes glittering. Alfred nodded, and suddenly wished he was eating in order to distract himself from all of this.

"So, hey, Vanya! You guys got any pancakes around here?"

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><p>And that is the conclusion of this chapter! The plot will start to pick up again in the next chapter, and we will probably get around the the re-appearance of Winter as well. Until next time my friends! Reviews are much appreciated!<p> 


	10. Chapter 9 Seized

Ok! Finally! The next chapter! I always feel so horrible when I put it off, but I'm just so lazy. PLEASE FORGIVE ME! All the reviews/alerts/favorites are greatly appreciated, and they make me very happy. So, the next chapter here for you! :D

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><p><em>Chapter Nine<em>

Ivan only starred at Alfred blankly. Alfred blinked slowly.

"You... don't... have pancakes?" Alfred responded to the blank stare. Ivan tilted his head.

"Pancakes?" At this, Alfred promptly flipped his lid.

"How can you NOT know what PANCAKES are DUDE!" Alfred shouted, "It's, like, the best food ever! Well... besides hamburgers and apple pie and... But, dude! Seriously! You've never had pancakes?"

"What are they?" Ivan asked. Alfred immediately grabbed up Matthew, who squeaked 'Maple!'

"Dude! We're going to have to make them then! An you're not gonna stop us! TO THE KITCHEN!" And with that, Alfred ran in a random direction, dragging Matthew along with him. A few seconds later, he reappeared back into the dining room, still dragging Matthew.

"Uh... where is the kitchen in this place?" Ivan only shook his head, smiling in an endearing way, before motioning for Alfred to follow him.

"Did someone say 'kitchen?'" Francis cried as he came running in, apparently all refreshed and ready to go. This only caused Arthur's mood to plummet, like uneven scales.

"I can cook as well, d'accord? I am a world-renowned chef!"

"Maybe in your head you are," Arthur retorted. This only fired up another round of arguing between the two of them, and they were promptly left behind by Ivan and Alfred (who was still dragging Matthew around) as they went to the kitchen themselves. After Alfred had been introduced to the kitchen, he made sure to walk around and get all of the ingredients himself, moving in hyper drive. The blond slathered batter everywhere: in bowls and on himself as well, as he whisked and poured them onto the heated stone plates that acted as the stoves in the kitchen area. Ivan was a bit amused at Alfred's antics, and Matthew sighed.

"Hey, you guys got anything like syrup?" Alfred asked, "It's real sweet and sticky and stuff?" Ivan paused before nodding, and getting out a couple of jars from the pantry. When Alfred looked into them, he giggled.

"Oh, that's not syrup, silly! That's honey! Although... maybe I could transform it into syrup!" Alfred flung his pointer finger into the air while his other hand rested on his hip in a heroic pose.

"Umm, I don't think it works like that..." Matthew squeaked out shyly. Alfred laughed loudly and smacked Matthew on the back light-heartedly, though it nearly gave Matthew a headache with the way it jarred his head.

"We'll manage! I'm the expert on pancakes, remember?" The pancakes were all stacked onto plates after they had been cooked, and they really did look fluffy and delicious. Since they were made on the stone plates, they were all different shapes and sizes according to how Alfred had used the spatula to shape and flip them. Some were perfectly round, while others had been formed into odd shapes. Alfred tasted the honey contentedly before he turned to Ivan.

"So you're sure that you don't have any maple syrup?"

"I am not sure, but I don't think so," Ivan spoke after a few moments of thinking.

"Oh! I know! Do you have anything like chocolate? Like a chocolate spread? Oh man, Nutella would be _amazing _on these pancakes right now! And some milk! I'd die of happiness!" Alfred sighed, gaining a wistful look.

"I think that we have this chocolate... though, this 'Nutella' you speak of, I know nothing about," Ivan responded.

"Awe man! I'm totally going to have to find a way to enlighten you and your people in the ways of Nutella!" Ivan and Alfred gathered up the pancakes, honey, chocolate spread, and also some bananas and apples that Alfred had found while rooting around in the pantry looking for other things to eat. Everyone perked up when all the food came out and was set up on the table. Feliciano had come in by that time, lured out by the smell of the fresh bread of the pancakes. He sat beside Ludwig sleepily, yawning. They sat in the exact same seating arrangement as they did during the dinner of the previous night. Every hastily started fixing their plates, and Alfred cut up his bananas in order to spread them all over the tops of his pancakes, and then drown everything on his plate in honey, along with slices of apple. Everyone absolutely enjoyed the simple, but delicious breakfast.

Ivan made the mistake of looking up to watch Alfred eat, and found he couldn't take his eyes off of the enthusiastic blond sitting across from him. Alfred had unconsciously slowed down his eating habits in order to better enjoy his food. He was still eating very haphazardly, however, and honey was rolling slowly down his chin and even getting down to his neck. Every once and a while, Alfred would wipe the honey from his neck and mouth with his fingers before licking and sucking his fingers clean, making the cutest little noises of satisfaction while doing so. It made all of Ivan's blood rush down south.

"Alfred! Really, you have no manners at all! Use a napkin for heaven's sake!" Arthur yelled from across the table, and threw a napkin at Alfred's face. Feliciano laughed when the napkin stuck to his face, as his mouth and chin were so stick with residue from the honey.

"Napkins?" Alfred laughed and joked, "What are those? I've never heard of them!" This only served to make Arthur throw even more napkins at Alfred in anger, Alfred only laughing at the Brit's actions. This snapped Ivan out of his trance, and he was able to pry his eyes away from Alfred in order to get himself under control. He thought back to earlier, when Alfred had asked him if he'd be able to wait until Alfred was ready... He knew that it would be difficult, and he was more than willing to show and prove to Alfred that he respected him and had the patience to wait. He just didn't think he would be tested so soon! But, never the less, Ivan was determined to earn Alfred's admiration. He had to keep reminding himself that it would be worth the wait, in the end.

"I was thinking," Yao piped up from beside Ivan, "that if Alfred is going to be able to help us locate the Great Crystal, that maybe the best place to start would be the ceremonial ruins. You should take him there after the two of you are done eating, Lord Ivan." Ivan's eyes lit up and he nodded.

"Ah! Good idea, Yao. I will do that, then. It is the perfect place to start." Alfred hastily swallowed the food in his mouth before asking:

"Ceremonial ruins?"

"Yes," Yao answered, "They are ancient ruins that have been submerged, and they detail the ceremonies necessary to receive the blessing from the Great Crystal, and were used to present infants to the crystal in order to gain blessings, as well as their own piece of the crystal to wear. However, the way to reading them had been lost along with the Great Crystal. You see, the ceremonial writings are written in a separate and sacred alphabet than the normal, everyday alphabet used to write the Atlantian language that is used commonly. The only way to read it had been lost during the Great Flood, as the Great Crystal had always shown us how to read them. It is a sacred place, and I'm certain you will be able to find something there that may be useful." Alfred sat patiently as he listened, soaking in this information as he paused in his eating.

"Wow, that sounds amazing! I definitely want to go now!" Alfred spoke excitedly, and downed the rest of the pancakes on his plate in record speed. The sight once again left most of the table mildly disturbed, save for Feliciano (who was oblivious as always and focused solely on his own food and talking to Ludwig), and Ivan, who found the whole thing incredibly amusing and somewhat adorable. Ivan and Alfred then left the dining hall, Alfred sucking his fingers loudly in order to get them as clean as possible. Ivan eventually flagged down a servant and asked for a damp washcloth, and proceeded to wipe off Alfred's face and hands himself so that he didn't have to suffer through the sounds and the sight of Alfred cleaning himself with his tongue. As they exited the palace, Ivan got a chill down his back, and turned to see Natalya coming from behind one of the pillars. Ivan had been wondering when she would show herself, as she had been hiding so that she wouldn't have to look at or speak to the guests. Ivan thought she was being childish, but had said nothing to her since their fight their fight that first day. Ivan could sense more than see that Alfred had tensed beside him.

"I came to see you, Brother," she spoke, "I hadn't seen much of you. I want to spend time with my brother." Ivan blinked at her nervously.

"I am sorry, sister, but I really have important things to do today..." Ivan spoke somewhat cautiously. Alfred tilted his head. 'I can understand that she's Vanya's sister, but he doesn't have to let her control him like that!' he thought.

"But brother! Wouldn't you rather spend time with me? I'm your sister! One day, we will be married, and we will be inseparable." Alfred did a double-take at this.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second there. Rewind! What did you just say? You're his _sister _and you're going to _marry _him? That... that just can't be right..." Not only was Alfred totally freaked out by the idea of sibling marriage, but he started to feel an unfamiliar wave of possessiveness come over him. He'd never been one to get possessive over things, really. He'd been emotionally attached to things, sure, if he liked someone or something enough (this was really mainly only concerned with inanimate objects such as his plane and jacket, since he'd never really gotten that close with anyone since his grandpa died) but he never had felt _possessive_. But, underneath all the affection and emotion that he felt for Ivan, Alfred could feel the welling thoughts of 'mine.' hidden deep down. It scared him a little, but at the same time, he was a bit glad that he finally found someone that he liked enough to be this way with. That he had finally found someone who wasn't a fling, that had a permanent place in his heart to help mend the void his grandfather had left. Alfred was just so _ready_ to heal. These two conflicting thoughts greatly confused him.

"It is!" Natalya snapped, " Brother and I are going to get married!" She sent a withering glare at Alfred, but it was lost on him as he was staring at Ivan, wondering what he thought of all of this.

"Natalya," Ivan said heavily, as if mentally preparing himself for what was to come, "we have been over this. I will not and cannot marry you. We are siblings."

"But, Brother!" Natalya cried out, "You are the only one meant for me!" Alfred's eyes furrowed as he thought, genuinely confused.

"Then... what's the point of this mark then?" he asked, pulling down his tunic enough to show the glimmering snowflake. Natalya hissed and her eyes narrowed to slits.

"That means nothing. Brother belongs to me!" she spat.

"Well, then why does Vanya have a mark, then?" Alfred continued, honestly concerned about Natalya's logic, and not asking these questions to be mocking, as Natalya thought he was. Her face became red as she had heard both Ivan's nickname coming from the inferior Alfred, and the insinuation that Ivan had been marked by Alfred.

"There is no such thing!" she yelled, looking to Ivan to confirm this. Ivan hesitantly turned around, and started to pull his shirt up at the back by grabbing and rolling and bunching it up with his fingers, so that he didn't have to actually take his whole shirt off, as someone like Alfred might have. The little sliver of gold that Alfred had seen before was now obviously a part of a ray that was coming off of a glimmering sun design that splayed over Ivan's back, standing out brightly in contrast to Ivan's extremely pale skin. Alfred couldn't help but stare at the detailed design. It was just so... sunny. It seemed to draw Alfred in, and he could barely contain himself from reaching out to touch it and trace his fingers over it. It took considerable effort, as Alfred was naturally an impulsive person. Natalya's face paled snow white as she stared at the mark in shock.

"How... HOW DARE YOU!" She screeched, and charged forward, reaching to her side where she kept her knife strapped securely to her waist on her belt. Ivan immediately released his shirt, letting it fall back over his back before stepping in between Alfred and the enraged Natalya.

"Stop it Natalya! You're being irrational! Calm yourself! I will not have you harming any of our guests! Your conduct is shameful, and it disrespects me, yourself, and our people when you do these things," Ivan's disposition suddenly turned dark, and he glared down at Natalya due to his considerable height, which only made his presence that more menacing. His attitude had done almost a complete 180 from minutes previous.

"Not only do you bring shame upon you, but I will not stand for any threat of harm to be made upon Alfred. He is precious to me, and as long as I am here, he will not be harmed. Do I make myself clear, sister?" He asked, his face painfully serious, not even a hint of his childish smile. Natalya instantly became meek, nodding and hiding her face as she hung her head and averted her eyes submissively, her face red with the force of her contained anger. She quickly turned on her heel and fled, not uttering a single word more. Ivan sighed, his shoulders slumping, suddenly feeling very weary. Alfred stared at him worriedly.

"Uh... I could always get Yao to take me, if you want to go and see your sister. I don't want to intrude on your family and cause problems, Vanya. That's not what I'm all about here," Alfred spoke in concern. He really didn't want to cause a rift between Vanya and his sister, that wasn't his intentions, and he felt bad that he seemed to be causing a wedge between them.

"No," Ivan spoke firmly, maybe with a bit more force than necessary, without realizing it. He didn't want to be anywhere other than right here with Alfred. Alfred was the only one that could make him feel better, at the moment. And he hated to think that Alfred felt guilty about any of this.

"None of this is your fault, Alfred. Natalya needs to learn that she does not always get her way, and that some things aren't meant to be. It wasn't like you chose for this to happen, Alfred. We became drawn together by chance," Ivan drew close and wrapped his arms around Alfred, "and you had no control over it. I do not want you feeling responsible for any of this." He spoke softly and calmly to Alfred, and alleviated Alfred's fears. Alfred had the worst habit of making himself believe that things were his fault, and because of that, always felt a compulsive need to help or fix things. Even when Alfred had nothing to do originally with the situation, he always wanted to help out, or he would feel guilty later, if he didn't, and wonder if things would have turned out for the better had he tried to help fix the problem. Alfred sighed, feeling much better at Ivan's reassurances, and smiled brightly up at Ivan's face.

"Ok. I was just making sure everything is all right!" he grinned. Ivan let a small smile slip onto his face, before taking Alfred's hand into his own and leading him once more to the ruins. As they left, Natalya paced the halls of the palace in blind fury, wishing for any way at all to rid Atlantis of these unwelcomed visitors.

Ivan led Alfred through the city, much like he had done before, only they were going deeper into a more ruinous and waterlogged part of the city. The citizens must not have dared to come there, because it all looked like it hadn't even been touched for some time.

"My people are mostly afraid of this place," Ivan spoke when Alfred had asked about it, "They are afraid that their ancestors that died in the Great Flood haunt this place." It was the totally wrong thing to say, Ivan realized a second later, when Alfred suddenly stopped walking and turned as pale and stiff as petrified wood.

"But of course, nothing has ever been seen! I and Yao have explored these ruins dozens of times, and nothing has ever happened!" Ivan hastily added. This seemed to relax Alfred's fears, but not completely. He still looked around warily as Ivan lead him through the carved pillars and half-standing structures over grown with plants and other various floral wildlife. They eventually came upon a short flight of stone steps that led down to a basin of water, who's deep blue color suggested that what it lacked in width, it made up for in depth. Alfred blinked.

"So, _all _of it is submerged?" He asked.

"Pretty much, yes."

"Well, how am I going to be able to see down there? I can't exactly swim with my glasses on!" Alfred pouted. Ivan raised an eyebrow.

"You cannot swim?"

"Oh, I can swim! I volunteered as a lifeguard for the local pool at the YMCA in college. I know all about it!" Alfred paused, and then this face lighted up, as if an idea suddenly struck him.

"I GOT IT! My goggles. I had almost forgot that I had packed them. I'm so glad I decided to take them with me instead of just chucking them somewhere!" Alfred produces a pair of American flag print goggles from a small satchel that he grabbed up to carry with him on their little excursion. He gingerly folded his glasses up and put them in a case he grabbed from in his bag, and then put them away before donning the goggles. He then posed with his fists on his hips like some sort of action hero figurine. He looked like a complete dork, but in a somehow adorable way.

"Now I am ready!" Alfred announced. Ivan blinked, and then shrugged.

"If you say so," he spoke a bit skeptically, and then the both of them stripped to just their pants, both with their backs turned to each other. Alfred, out of shyness, and Ivan, because he wanted to make a show of respect. They both turned back when they were ready, and Alfred walked up to the water with some reservations.

"It better not be super cold or something..." He murmured. He absolutely hated cold water. He stuck his foot in, only to yelp and draw it back out.

"Shit! It's freezing!" He cried out. Ivan chuckled, dipping his foot it.

"Surely you're kidding? It is like bathwater!"

"'Bathwater' my ass! It is not!"

"Come now, you are being a big baby. In the water now," Ivan spoke, obviously not believing that Alfred thought the water was cold. 'What is this guy, a human ice cube?' Alfred thought darkly. Alfred stared at the way the sun mark on Ivan's back rippled as his muscles flexed when he dived into the water. Alfred could feel his body heat up in a way that he'd never really experienced before, and was a little glad that the water he was about to dive into was cold...

With a great splash, Alfred dived in, getting the whole experience done with in an instant. He shivered and he could feel goosebumps erupting all over his body. He and Ivan surface only for a moment to get a big gulp of air, before diving in. Alfred follows the glowing light from Ivan's crystal through the underwater ruins, watching it's path and mimicking it with the absence of perfect sight. Everything he saw was faintly blurred shapes and colors, and he would have had to press his face up against the columns in order to be able to see or read any of the carvings on them. Just as he felt his air about to expire, he followed Ivan up and into a pocket of air. He breathed in the oxygen like it was a precious commodity. He narrowed his eyes at Ivan, who seemed to be fine.

"You surface dwellers, you are not very hardy people?" Ivan asked, smirking.

"I'm plenty tough enough! It's just that you're like some sort of mutant cold-resistant fish people. I'm plenty in shape for the lifestyle I live," Alfred defended himself. He wasn't really keen on others thinking he was a wimp or anything like that. He could hold his own! Ivan only chuckled in response, and dove back under the water. Alfred huffed before following, and the two swam a short distance until they came upon a vast, curved slab of rock that looked like it might have been the wall of a cave at one point, but was now lost to the watery and ruinous depths of the city. Ivan swam close so that Alfred could use the light of his crystal to read the intricate and sprawling symbols that glittered an aqua color like turquoise stones, contrasting with the dark color of the walls they were carved into. Alfred, quite comically, had to almost smoosh his face completely against the wall to be able to clearly identify the symbols he was looking at. Alfred pulled himself away from the wall and pointed upwards, back towards the air pocket, and the two quickly swam there.

Alfred immediately began to talk, causing his words to come out winded and wheezy sounding, because he had not adequately filled his lungs with air first. Now able to see those bright blue eyes through the lenses of the goggles, Ivan could see the clear sparks of excitement in Alfred's eyes, and knew that he had found something.

"This is so cool! It details all sorts of different kinds of blessings, and there are more than just birth ceremonies here too. They have death ceremonies, wedding ceremonies... it's unbelievable."

"You... you can read the symbols?" Ivan asked hesitantly in bewilderment.

"Yeah man! I used a book called the 'Shepherd's Journal' to get here, and it's written the exact same way." Alfred paused then, his expression thoughtful.

"Hey, let's take another look," he stated finally, and he and Ivan dove back under the dark waters. Alfred skimmed over a different part of the wall to see what was written there, and his eyes widened in surprise and he frantically read all that he could before having to go back to the air pocket to breathe.

"What is it? What did you find?" Ivan asked, taking in Alfred's wild and excited look.

"It's... it's incredible! It's a detailed account of the Great Crystal's defense mechanisms, and I think there was even records... like, the history of Atlantians or something... I think they were names? Maybe... an obituary of some sort? If we study this, we might get a clue of where the crystal would have disappeared to after the calamity occurred." Ivan's face brightened, and Alfred could feel the heat at his core getting hotter, and warming his whole body. Ivan really looked so much better when he was happy and smiling, in Alfred's opinion. Even if Alfred preferred when Ivan used his regular, deep voice, his high, light voice could be cute too. Alfred's stomach growled loudly, interrupting anything else that was going to be said by either of them.

"Maybe, we should break for lunch?" Alfred asked sheepishly. Ivan chuckled.

"Yes, that might be a good idea. Besides, you are very cute when you eat. Like a squirrel, yes?" Ivan teased. Alfred huffed and puffed his cheeks out like a child would, mimicking the animal Alfred had just described him as unconsciously. It only made Ivan's smirk widen. They made the swim back to the surface of the basin, and exited the water. as they did this, they spotted Matthew running hurriedly toward them, looking panicked.

"I finally found you guys! There's trouble at the palace!" Immediately, Ivan's face turned serious and he paced up to stand close to Matthew in an almost threatening manner.

"Tell me what is wrong," he demanded.

"It's Commander Winter! He's completely shut the palace down. All of the Atlantian citizens locked themselves in their houses, as not to get hurt, thankfully. Everyone in the palace are practically hostages, though," Matthew explained, breathing hard. Alfred's face displayed the anger that Ivan was feeling but didn't show on his stoic face, but rather, was reflected into his violet eyes, dark and swirling with emotion.

"That bastard! How did you manage to escape?" Alfred asked curiously.

"It... wasn't really very hard..." Matthew trailed off, remembering.

Matthew was, once again, bored. Everyone talked amongst themselves and he just sort of sat there idly. Alfred had already left with that intimidating Ivan character, and Matthew was a bit grateful. Alfred was just so strong and so _loud_. It completely overwhelmed the much more docile blond. And then, Ivan of course, was another brand of scary entirely. It seemed as though the man had forgotten to make good on the silent threat he had sent to Matthew when Alfred had his panic attack, thankfully, but Matthew had been so scared that he could hardly get any sleep the night previous, fearing that Ivan would burst in at any moment to do god knows what to him. Matthew was so happy that they had pancakes for breakfast, though. It reminded him of home and soothed him, even if he had to use honey instead of maple syrup. Alfred could be an ok guy if he wanted to, Matthew supposed. He was able to talk to that nice guy, Kiku a bit more when Arthur had become distracted with hurting Francis when the Frenchman started trying to be seductive and use the honey to get peoples' attention in the wrong kind of ways. Kiku was so nice, and he even remembered Matthews name! Matthew was having a normal conversation! He was so happy that he might have cried.

Everyone was ready to leave, finished with breakfast, when seemingly out of nowhere, soldiers started to storm in from everywhere, securing and controlling everyone within the palace. Everyone was mostly silent with shock, except for Feliciano, who started to cry out and panic. Ludwig quickly shushed him, not wanting one of the soldiers to get angry with Feliciano and try to hit him or something. It would only make the situation worse. Commander Winter strolled in almost serenely after his troops, whom most of the crew had immediately recognized by their attire that they were part of the special forces directly under Winter's control. Winter laid a critical eye over each of them, skipping over Matthew as though he didn't even realize that he was there. Matthew didn't know if he should be relieved or angry at this anymore.

"I see that there are two missing here. That brat and the Lordling." He turned to his right, and there Natalya stood, scowling and looking quite irritated.

"You failed to keep them inside the palace today. You were to persuade them not to go out," Winter admonished. Natalya scoffed.

"It changes nothing. They will come back eventually. Just remember that you promised not to hurt my brother and leave our people alone when you get what you want. And make sure to take all of your filthy surface dwelling associates with you," she spat. Arthur clenched his teeth.

"You would sell out your own people for your selfish desires?" He spoke out. Natalya hissed and drew out a very sharp looking dagger from one of the sheaths on her belt.

"Your people are dying and yet you would choose to sit by and do nothing," Arthur continued, a tone of disgust clear in his voice. She growled threateningly only a millisecond before she swiftly aimed to throw her knife. Winter, however, roughly grabbed her arm to prevent her from doing anything.

"Do not forget that you are not supposed to harm any of my people either," he warned her. She sent him a withering glare, which only reflected right off the cold man, before she turned away angrily, and Winter released her arm.

"Now," Winter continued, "Where is our little friend Alfred? He is, after all, the very key that we've been searching for this whole time."

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><p>YAY! Some plot has started to kick in! Suspenseful, isn't it? I guess the main reason besides my laziness for these chapters coming out so slow is that I'm really trying to work out the finer points of my plot beyond this point. A.K.A I'm making up stuff as I go here! But, I'm going to make it all believable of course, and there will still be elements from the original movie too, but past this point, not really too much more, I think. Oh well. Please review! I do love it when people review. I love to know your thoughts and feedback! :D<p> 


	11. Chapter 10 Storm

I'm so sorry for how late I've been with this! It's just with college and everything, and then getting a job and I'm moving into an apartment with two of my friends... it's just been wild for me. BUT! I just couldn't sit by when I remembered all the reviews I've gotten and everything... and then I was re-reading all of them and I just couldn't let this story go. I had to finish it. So here it is! I hope you all enjoy it. You deserve it.

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><p><em>Chapter Ten<em>

Matthew panicked as he saw a strange glint in Winter's pale eyes. Had he gone insane? What was this about Alfred and a key? Arthur was the only one brave enough to voice the question everyone else was thinking.

"Don't worry about that just yet. All things will be revealed with time," Winter told them. Arthur's scowl deepened. Kiku leaned to the side a little and murmured to Matthew:

"You need to escape; to warn Ivan and Alfred. They don't know what is happening. People seem to overlook you very easily. You can use this to you advantage, now." Matthew blinked and nodded silently.

"Where are the ceremonial grounds that they were talking about? I have no clue where they are," Matthew spoke back to Kiku. Kiku quietly murmured simple directions so that Matthew would be able to find the grounds easily without any help, and Matthew took all this information in determinedly. Kiku was depending on him! Kiku was the first friend Matthew ever had that actually acknowledged him. After Kiku had given him the directions, Matthew nodded and braced himself. His eyes darted about the room, and none of the guards were even looking his way. He breathed in deeply, gathering his resolve and then... simply just walked out!

He was so scared someone was going to suddenly turn and shout at him or shoot him. But nothing happened. It was practically the first time he'd ever been relieved that he was invisible to most people. He never noticed Natalya sneaking off in the opposite direction.

"And that was basically what happened," Matthew concluded, only to find Alfred talking loudly to Ivan, both now dressed and Matthew's story mostly forgotten.

"We gotta be the heroes and save everyone! Ugh, I knew Winter was weird and freaky, but I never expected him to do something like this..." Alfred babbled.

"Well, it is happening now. We have to stop him and free the others. I have no clue as to what he would want..." Ivan started, but then paused thoughtfully before saying, "No, I think I have an idea now. The Great Crystal, of course. It is the only think my people have... I will never let him have it. My people need it to survive." Alfred nodded.

"Don't worry, Vanya. I promise I'll help you." Alfred spoke sincerely, and it made Ivan's lips quirk into a small, soft smile.

"I am counting on you," Ivan replied softly.

"All right! Let's go!" Alfred shouted, pumping his fist into the air. Matthew followed the two back to the palace through the eerily quiet and deserted streets. It gave Alfred the chills… It was starting to grow dark, and Ivan was reminded of the day his sister was taken from him. He could hear thunder in the distance. A storm was coming…

The three of them slowed as they reached the palace doors. They could see two soldiers stationed there in front of the large palace doors and quickly hid in the underbrush before they were spotted.

"What now? We gotta take care of these guys," Alfred whispered in frustration.

"It would be nice if I had a weapon…" Ivan murmured.

"You mean… like this?" Matthew asked as he pointed to a spear laying on the ground a few feet away from them.

"It must have been dropped when the soldiers were overtaking the Atlantian guards that were here," Alfred muttered as Ivan took up the spear. Ivan growled low in his throat, eyes narrowing. The way he looked reminded Alfred of a large predator stalking its prey, and it sent a shiver of excitement down his spine. Ivan held the spear like a javelin, and reared his arm back. Alfred could just imagine the muscles moving beneath Ivan's white tunic. Then, Ivan's arm shot forward, flinging the spear strongly and expertly, the spear arching in the air and then diving down straight into one of the soldier's unprotected face, piercing him straight through. The man couldn't do more than let out a gurgling sound before he crumbled to the ground, dead.

The other guard that was standing there looked quickly at the fallen solder and trembled, holding his gun tightly and looking around the area in fear. He started to slowly inch his way from the palace doors and down the path beside the underbrush where the three of them were hiding. Ivan gave a malicious grin as he crouched and moved as silently as a cat through the brush, making a circle around the soldier. He moved slowly behind him, before forcefully grabbing the man's head and twisting it, jerking the man's neck at an impossible angle.

There was a sickening crack, and when Ivan let go of the soldier, the soldier fell to the ground with a hollow thud. Alfred and Matthew exchanged looks of awe and hurriedly followed Ivan as he paced up to the palace doors and grabbed the spear protruding from the other fallen soldier's head. He drove his foot down on the soldier's chest and pulled the spear out. The soldier's face was completely unrecognizable, just a gapping bloody red hole where a face should be.

"Let us continue," Ivan spoke simply, as if nothing was wrong, and both Alfred and Matthew gulped, nodded and followed Ivan as he cautiously opened the large palace doors. They walked quickly and quietly through the halls, Ivan glancing around every now and again for any other signs of soldiers prowling about. There was a loud, ominous, creaking sound as they moved farther down the hall to the throne room, and Ivan hastily stopped. This caused Alfred and Matthew to moved a pace or two ahead of him, as they were unprepared for Ivan to stop so quickly.

"What is it?" Alfred whispered, and Ivan's eyes narrowed as he looked about. He was about to speak, when suddenly, a great crashing sound echoed around them, and two massive cage-like gates fell from the ceiling. Alfred immediately grabbed Matthew and tackled him forward, the momentum driving them to leap out of the way of the gate that would have crushed them had they been there a second more. Ivan was helplessly trapped between the two gate-walls, and Alfred immediately ran up to it to clutch and yank futilely at them.

"Dude! You ok, Vanya?" Alfred asked, slightly panicked.

" I am fine, Alfred. What about you?" Alfred shook his head.

"We need to find a way to get you out of here!" It was Ivan's turn to shake his head this time.

"I will be fine, after all it is one of the palace traps. I will be able to figure it out. You must go ahead. We cannot waste any time. Here," Ivan carefully removes his crystal necklace and hands it to Alfred through the bars, "take this with you. That way, a piece of me will stay with you. " Alfred took the crystal delicately and with extreme reverence.

"Oh man, are you sure? These things are super important to your people!" Ivan pushed Alfred's hands away from him and closer to Alfred.

"I want you to keep it with you. I would rather you have its protection than I." Alfred cast a worried glance over Ivan. He nodded his head slowly and sighed as he put the crystal around his neck.

"If it's what you think is best, I'll do it. But please, be careful, ok? I didn't go on this Atlantis trip to gain something so precious and lose it, you know. I play for keeps." Ivan smiled warmly, for the first time in a long time, and Alfred could feel his heart beating faster at the sight. At that moment, Alfred could honestly say he was falling in love.

"Don't worry about me, Alfred, I am quite capable of handling myself. Or have you already forgotten about those two unfortunate soldiers that stood in my path earlier?" Alfred shuddered and shook his head. He turned and walked back further into the palace, looking back once to see Ivan nodding at him encouragingly, and he sighed steeling himself.

"Ok, Alfred, it's just you now. But you can do this. You're tough!" Alfred told himself.

"Um… I'm still here you know. And I'm also fine, thanks for asking…" Matthew grumbled beside Alfred. Alfred squeaked a little and jumped, looking beside him.

"Oh! Mattie! I was wondering where you went to! Scampered off and scouted ahead, did you? Don't go too far ahead, or the hero may not be able to save you, hehe…" Alfred laughed a little nervously at the end rambling a little to try and cover up the scare Matthew gave him. Matthew rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I can see why Ivan would give you all the protection possible instead of himself…" Matthew replied, and they both swiftly but also carefully went through the long hallway as the remembered, and up into the throne room. The surprise they found there shocked them.

Standing there with her arms folded and a spiteful glare under her thin, furrowed eyebrows stood Natalya, looking as 'pleased' as ever to see them.

"So you've come in spite of Ivan's entrapment. Just left him there, hm? Hopefully he will see now what a useless snake you are."

"Dude, he told me to go on without him. And besides, he wouldn't be there in the first place if you weren't going around and betraying him and your people behind his back!" Alfred accused at her. There was only so much he could forgive before he was past the point of no return, but Natalya was edging pretty close to his bad side. Natalya scoffed, peeved at him.

"Your bushy browed fried voiced similar complaints, but unfortunately, Winter would not let me silence him. However, I'm sure it wouldn't matter much whether I brought you to him maimed or not…" Natalya hissed, a glint in her eye. Alfred clenched his fists.

"I've always been taught never to hit a lady, but if it's a fight you want, I'm not just gonna lay down and take it. I won't let you or Winter get away with whatever it is your planning!" Natalya spat and lunged at Alfred, who barely managed to dodge out of the way, getting a little nicked on his arm from her wicked sharp knife. 'Gonna have to be careful, she can do some real damage with those things!' he thought as he kicked at her as she passed from when he dodged. She stumbled a little but whirled around swiftly to strike at Alfred again.

It was then that Matthew leapt at her unnoticed from behind and grabbed her, binding her arms to her side as he wrapped his arms around her middle. She screeched and flailed her legs and struggled mightily, and Alfred rushed at her to help Matthew. He first grabbed up all the cloth from around the throne and then he and Matthew used them as a sort of makeshift rope in order to bind up Natalya. She hissed and cursed loudly at the two of them angrily, and Alfred sighed with relief.

"Man that was scary…" Alfred told Matthew as they made their way from the throne room and off to another hallway towards the Dining Hall.

"You and I, Mattie, we make a pretty good team!" Alfred grinned and patted Matthew on the back. Matthew coughed and winced a little.

"Ah… yeah… Sure did," Matthew agreed, if only to get Alfred to stop hitting him. 'Even though I was the one that caught her…' Matthew thought to himself wearily. But it wasn't like he was the type to make a big deal of these sorts of things anyways, and besides, they had more important things to worry about. Like how the heck they were supposed to free the others.

"Well… uh.. maybe we could just bust in there all element of surprise and beat all the guards up!" Alfred suggested. Matthew leveled a 'are you serious?' stare at him and Alfred quieted down, "Well what do you suggest then?" Alfred huffed.

"I guess… you could provide as a distraction, and I'll untie everyone… and then we'll stand a better chance at beating all the guards… that is… if General Winter isn't there too… I really don't know what that guy is capable of…" Matthew and Alfred exchanged worried looks.

"Yeah… that guy really gives me the creeps… It would help if I knew just exactly what he was planning… I mean, I know that he wants the Great Crystal, sure, but… not even the people that live here know where the hell it even is! So what makes him so sure he's got the answer? I mean, it's not like he has some magic instructions or-" Alfred stopped then, a look of comprehension dawning on his face.

"What? What is it?" Matthew asked, concerned as to why Alfred would suddenly stop mid-rant like that.

"That's it! The missing pages in the Shepherd's Journal! He has them…" Alfred frowned, "But… when did he even get the pages? Before my father died? After? Ugh… it's just too much for me to think about right now… I guess we won't know until we actually confront the guy. C'mon Mattie, we gotta be the heroes and save everyone!"

"Uh, ok… so we're going with my plan, right?" Alfred blinked and looked back at Matthew.

"Yeah, sure, ok. Let's go with that." Matthew sighed, 'Did he even listen to my plan?' The two of them made it to the entrance to the Dining Room and they both nodded to each other before Matthew sneaked into the room. Just as before, no one really seemed to notice that Matthew was even there. He quietly untied everyone, and that's when Alfred busted in. In the ensuing chaos, everyone wildly attacked the nearest guard and knocked all of them out in the room.

"Hey guys, did you miss me?" Alfred asked, beaming at all of them.

"Ve~! Alfred! You're ok!" Feliciano exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, thanks to Mattie! He's the one that warned me and helped me out and stuff!" Matthew's eyes lit up. He was acknowledging Matthew's assistance?

Everyone turned and looked at Matthew appraisingly. They were looking at him! Matthew felt lighter than air.

"Well, who would have guessed he had a spine on him?" Arthur supplied.

"Good job, Matthew, I'm glad you succeeded," Kiku spoke softly beside him. Matthew was grateful for Kiku's help, as he had been the one to notice Matthew from the beginning.

"We all need to get to Winter and stop whatever it is that he's planning," Alfred piped up.

"He was going towards the city square," Yao told them, "I can take you there. It's a large circular area in the middle of the city that was use for all of our special events and ceremonies back when the Great Crystal was still in the sky." Everyone nodded. They were all prepared to go and face Winter.

"I wonder if Ivan's escaped… He should be back with us if he has by now, shouldn't he?" Matthew asked. Alfred glanced worriedly behind them and towards the Dining Room entrance.

"Yeah, I've been thinking that myself… I hope nothing happened to him… or he could have just decided to go to the city square himself? God, I hope he hasn't… We should have got everyone together first!"

"I was wondering why he wasn't with you," Ludwig confessed, "Did something happen?"

"He got caught in a palace trap. But he said he would be fine and told me and Mattie to go ahead. We fought and tied up Natalya in the throne room, and then came here and helped you guys," Alfred explained.

"If he got himself free, then it would make sense if he went ahead to face Winter himself," Arthur supposed. Alfred frowned worriedly.

"Then we better hurry on then!" Alfred exclaimed. He was just about to make his way through the Dining Room entrance, when he was grabbed and spun around by someone from the shadows.

"You won't be going anywhere unless I'm leading you there," Natalya hissed, pressing a knife to his throat.

"I thought you said you tied her up!" Francis exclaimed, fright and shock written on his face.

"We did!" Matthew protested. Natalya snorted.

"That silly little rope job you two did? It was pathetic. Vanya and I are both trained hunters. You wouldn't think that I would be able to escape from something like that? I was just waiting for you to present me with the perfect opportunity to capture you. And now that you're all up and ready to go, I see no point in dawdling anymore. Come!" She hissed and roughly steered Alfred through the hallways and towards an unfamiliar exit from the palace. Everyone followed nervously, fearing for Alfred's safety.

The whole city felt like a ghost town. There was not a soul to be seen as they passed through the streets. The sky was dark and heavy with clouds, and it was the first instance of bad weather that the crew had seen so far. It made everyone's hair stand on end. They made it to the center square, and there was Winter, standing with his hands clasped behind his back in a stereotypical military fashion, looking as stern faced and cold as ever as he eyed the lot of them.

"So good of you to finally show. Now that the audience has arrived, it's time for the main event. Natalya… if you will," Winter gestured to her.

"Gladly," she snarled, and pushed Alfred to the center of the square.

"Why the hell are you doing all of this?" Alfred shouted. Winter shook his head.

"Of course you would want an explanation. It's really quite simple. With all the power the Great Crystal has, the surface world above would be clamoring for it. And me, I would only give it to the highest bidder, of course." Alfred gave him a disgusted look, as well as the rest of the crew.

"But… what makes you think you know how to get to it?"

"Another easily answered question. Your grandfather also knew how to read the Shepherd's Journal, you know. He told me and Whitmore of the secrets the book contained. Those two old fools would have been content to find Atlantis just for the sake of finding it, as are you. But I couldn't let it all go to waste. I confronted your grandfather about it, but he refused to have any part of it. He threatened to tell Whitmore of my plans if I didn't back off and forget about searching for the Great Crystal for these purposes… The old fool should have had me taken off the expedition right then. But of course, before he had the chance to act, I got rid of him instead…" Alfred's eyes went wide with rage.

"You… YOU DID WHAT? YOU… YOU KILLED HIM? HOW… HOW COULD YOU?! MY GRANDFATHER WAS NOTHING BUT GOOD TO YOUR SCUMBAG ASS AND YOU KILLED HIM?" Alfred shouted furiously. How could he do that to his grandfather, the only family he ever had? How could he just take him away from Alfred like that? Alfred just couldn't accept it.

"It wasn't like it was a particularly difficult decision. He was in my way, so I got rid of him… but the man had a trick up his sleeve. He laughed in my face and with his last breaths, he mocked me for doing the one thing that would prevent me from ever finding the Crystal. Your grandfather, and also you, as I would later discover, hold a very special key to the Crystal, and it is only your blood that can show the path to it. He had found that out when he was originally trying to open the Journal. You see, something of this great importance wouldn't simply just be an open book that anyone could open. No, only those worthy enough could open and read this Journal As your grandfather was the first to find and study it, it was he that found the way to open it. He'd cut himself on accident, and some of his blood had spilt on the cover. The Journal absorbed it, and the book unlocked itself to him.

"At the time I had not known of your existence, and I cursed at the good fortune of your grandfather. I tore the only pages relating to the Great Crystal as insurance, and left the book as it was, so that nothing of your grandfather's death would be suspicious. After all, I wouldn't want all the work to go to waste, even if I had thought there was no path forward. And then, Whitmore comes back to me for an expedition to find Atlantis, with none other than the old man's grandson at the head. What better outcome could there be than this? And so now here we are. Ah, but this tale is long, and I'm afraid I've grown bored of it. Natalya," Winter signaled to her, and she grinned wickedly before plunging her knife into Alfred's belly. She wretched it out again forcefully, and Alfred's blood spilt all over the tiles of the square. The whole crew gasped and Feliciano and Matthew cried out Alfred's name. Natalya stepped away from him after pushing him on the ground, going to stand beside Winter.

Alfred coughed and sputtered, anger working through him and a snarl on his face. He couldn't let Winter have it! He would do anything to prevent it. His blood was pooled in the middle circle where he lay bleeding, staggering to right himself. The middle circle branched out into fanciful twists and paths, and his blood, instead of just washing over it, followed the paths, not once running over the lines. Stones set in the ground glowed as his blood touched it, and before long there was a whole set of circles of stone that were alight. The city began to shake, as if some great thing were awakening underneath it. The dark clouds above let loose cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning. The stones in the square dislodged themselves from the ground and began to float upward, their radiance growing as they ascended higher. Larger crystals lobbed themselves from underneath the ground, and the crew members scrambled as one started coming up right beneath them.

Alfred finally managed to stand, clutching his stomach and panting as he looked towards the sky. The crystal had assembled itself, odd carvings sketched all over its rotating fragments. Beams of light pulsed and shot from it moving about the circle until the all converged over Alfred. Ivan's crystal started tugging upward and Alfred felt an odd sensation sweep over him, like he was a bottle and some cold liquid was being poured into him, filling him to the bone with numbing cold.

"ALFRED!" Came a cry and then there was Ivan, running towards him. Alfred turned to him, wanting to cry out his name, but finding himself unable to speak. He was starting to float and he looked down in surprise on himself. Ivan couldn't let this happen, not again!

"Stop right there! Or I'll be forced to blow your brains out!" Winter bellowed as he raised a pistol and pointed it at Ivan. Ivan stopped in his tracks, but glared at Winter and snarled.

"No! We had an agreement! You can't harm him!" Natalya hissed. Ivan clenched his hands in fury.

"I did say that… didn't I?" Winter turned the gun on her and shot her, piercing one of her lungs. Blood poured from her chest and mouth and she fell to the ground in shock and pain, "Well, I'm sorry, but that deal is over now."

"NATALYA!" Ivan cried. Natalya curled in on herself on the ground and sobbed in pain. Soldiers started to come in, probably the ones they'd left in the palace earlier, and maybe even others that were waiting in other places. Everyone could only watch as Alfred was swallowed up into the crystal and then a great light emitted from it, so bright and blinding everyone had to turn away. After it subsided, Alfred's figure could be seen descending down from the crystal. But it wasn't right. His whole body looked to be made of smooth glowing crystal identical to the crystal that had just swallowed him. Tears started to fall from Ivan's eyes as he watched Alfred float down until he touched the ground. Was his Alfred gone?

"Alfred?" He whispered. There was no movement for a moment, and everyone was quiet. There was no sound, not even the lightning and thunder above seemed to be able to produce a single note to break it.

"Yes, this is what I have been searching for," Winter spoke triumphantly, taking a step towards Alfred's floating crystalline body. It was then in that moment that there was such an earsplitting crash of thunder that everyone jumped and Feliciano even screamed. Alfred's eyes shot open and a light shone from them that was orange and yellow and red like a sunset bleeding into the sky, and it started to spread from his eyes all over his body until it was made up of these shifting bright colors and his face twisted into rage and there was such an inhuman sound of anger that came from his mouth that everyone cringed away from it instinctively. Sounds of rumbling from beneath the city came back again with force, enough to make everyone unsteady on their feet.

"An earthquake?" Arthur cried.

"No, it must be that volcano!" Francis wailed.

"The lava from around the city!" Matthew gasped. Ivan stared at Alfred before painfully tearing himself away, running and kneeling beside Natalya, who was slowly bleeding out and dying.

"Brother," She coughed, the rumbling and shaking bearing down so much agony upon her, "please… I beg your forgiveness… I'm sorry. I had only thought… because the crystal had taken Katyusha, that it would bring nothing but ill fortune upon us if we ever tried to use it again… I wanted only for it to be taken away so that it wouldn't harm us again… I didn't want it to take you away from me… you who is the only thing that I care about anymore…" tears were sprawling from Natalya's eyes all over her cheeks and face. Ivan looked down upon her with a pained face. He was angry, but he was also miserable, and scared, much like the night Katyusha was taken from them. There wasn't much point to turn his anger on Natalya. She was his only family, and she was dying. No, he didn't want her to go like this. He leaned over and kissed her forehead tenderly, much like Katyusha used to do to him.

"I understand your wishes Natalya, though you know I do not agree with them. But it is not you I am angry with, it is Winter. I will set this right, I promise you," he told her. She nodded at him, and feebly grasped his hand. She wrapped his fingers around her crystal.

"Take it brother. Take it so that… I can see the great city that you wish to build… take it so that we can be together, at least, in this way. I want you to be happy brother…" she coughed and a great amount of blood washed over her and she sputtered and gasped until finally she was still in his arms. Ivan laid her gently down and took her crystal from her and stood. There was a calamity coming and the lava around the city was surging up and up like a great wall. Strands of it swirled out and dove down like missiles of fire from the sky. These strands started to rush down onto soldiers, spraying lava over their bodies and burning them, scorching the areas around where they stood. The lava continued to surge like a dome around and over the top of the city, like the very jaws of hell were swallowing it up.

"Just what in the bloody hell is going on?" Arthur asked.

"If this continues, then the heat from that lava will cook us all to death like meat in an oven!" Francis yelped. A piece of the lava broke away and surged down mightily and swiftly as if fired from and arrow. It dove and struck through Winter, burning through his whole torso. He let loose an agenized scream of terror before falling to the ground singed and dead. The heat didn't subside though, and the lava towering around the city hadn't gone down at all.

"We need to find a way to stop him!" Yao cried, pointing to Alfred. The crew gathered around him, but they soon learned that they couldn't get too close, as he was emitting such a quantity of heat from his body that they sure as hell couldn't touch him.

"Move aside," Came Ivan's strong voice and they all parted for him.

"No one can touch him," Matthew whispered worriedly. Ivan stared at the crystalline body and then looked down at the crystal in his hand. He breathed in deeply before closing his eyes and clutching it tightly. 'If you can hear me,' he thought, 'please… return him! Not only for me… but for everyone's sake… he will kill the city and all its people… all of your people… if this doesn't stop!' There was an extreme cold building in his hand where he was clutching the crystal, and a voice seeped into his mind, numbing and cold, 'What will you do to stop it? What will you give?' it asked. It didn't take Ivan more than a second to answer, 'Anything.' There was a pause, and then, 'So it will be done.'

Ivan could feel the rushing coldness of an iceberg surging through him, and he didn't have to open his eyes to know that he was glowing the same as the crystal. It was surging through him so strongly, and he was reeling from its presence. Like a great, shifting consciousness was ripping through his very being. And it spoke to him.

"If you don't hurry, he will be taken by the crystal. The crystal is its own entity, but also a collection of consciousness from all of those connected to it that have died before. Faced in such a place, Alfred will lose his sense of self, until it will become impossible for him to separate. He will be lost forever." Ivan opened his eyes. He was such a bright crystalline blue. All of the crew members had backed away from him and he could guess as to why. He could feel the heat of Alfred, but it was so faint and far away. He knew he must have been frozen over to be so impervious to it. He surged forward and quickly gripped Alfred's shoulders.

"Alfred! Alfred stop all of this! Winter is dead! You will kill everyone!" Alfred hissed at him, sounding like the hiss from a hot object when it was sprayed with cold water. And he realized it wasn't coming from Alfred's mouth, but where Ivan was holding him. Ivan gripped Alfred and hugged him hard, willing for Alfred to just wake up.

"Alfred please. I cannot think if how I would ever be able to survive without you. Even if the calamity were to stop… you must come back as well… I couldn't… go on if you weren't there! Answer me!" Ivan stared into Alfred's eyes, where red and yellow and orange were swirling the same as the rest of his body, and there was a pained look on his face.

"Ivan…" He spoke, "I'm so… angry… it hurts. I can't stop it!" He sounded small and so scared, and Ivan held him close.

"Everything will be all right Alfred. I promise you. I will protect you." Ivan reached down to the crystal around Alfred's neck, the one that he gave him. He touched it, and there was a quiet, soft hum, a spark on his fingertips and a small warmth.

"I will always be protecting you… right here…" Ivan whispered. Alfred gave out a sobbing, choked sound and grabbed Ivan's head, melding their face and lips together. They kissed hard and softly… with such passion, and yet, there was a delicacy to it that few would be able to understand. It was wet and warm there, and they knew once they parted that things would be different. Everything would change. In this small space that was theirs, they wished it could go on forever. But they both knew it wouldn't last, so slowly, surely, they parted.

A calm washed about the city. The lava had softly subsided, slowly flowing back downwards until it had sunk back to its place beneath the city. There was a brightness in the sky, a warmth, and there was a coolness in the breeze. They all looked up and saw there was a crevice into the sky, and the great sounds of the sea could he heard and seawater started to pour down around the city, a great circular wall that connected with the lava below. As the two met it cause a great sizzle and steam rose around them. This went on for a minute or two before the water finally stopped pouring.

"You think that's a way to the surface up there?" Alfred whispered.

"Maybe," Ivan answered.

"No doubt there must be a new island up there now," Matthew spoke.

"I hope it's far away from everything… I don't want this place being discovered," Alfred admitted. There was a hum of approval from the whole crew.

"Some things just aren't meant to be found," Arthur replied wisely. The Great Crystal, still floating above the city slowly started to rise, and then, the crevice to the sky shimmered and there was a great covering of ice that formed over it. The ice was somehow transparent, to where they could see the sky over the city, but there was such a great and thick layer of ice between them that it should have been impossible. Alfred chuckled.

"I guess I know where this island just formed. Probably somewhere near Antarctica or the Arctic Circle. I don't think we have anything to worry about." Everyone grinned at each other, until Ivan let out a pained gasp. Alfred looked over and hurriedly gripped him.

"Oh god, what's wrong now?" He asked frantically.

"I… my chest… I don't know…" Ivan clutched over his chest where his heart would be, and there was a glowing there. Alfred's chest and Ivan's crystal still around his neck began glowing too, but there was no pain. Eventually, it all subsided, and Alfred put a hand over where his heart would be.

"Ah… I think… there are two heartbeats…" He said slowly and unsurely. Ivan looked up in surprise.

"The Great Crystal spoke to me about giving something in order to stop you from destroying the city and bringing you back to me… It took my heart?" Ivan questioned.

"Well, I guess it makes sense. Your heart and your love are what calmed me down and saved everyone, so your heart is what it took to save me… And apparently it thinks that I should have it instead," Alfred smiled and kept his hand pressed against his chest, "I kind of like it… it feels nice… having your heart."

"There isn't anyone else I would give it to," Ivan confessed and smiled at Alfred. He carefully put Natalya's crystal around his neck and under his scarf.

"Ve~! I'm glad everything worked out so nice! I hate sad endings! Everything should be happy!" Feliciano cheered and clapped his hands together.

"Speaking of happy endings, how are we going to get back to the surface anyways?" Arthur pointed out. Ivan giggled a little, though it didn't quite sound that happy.

"I'm sure the Leviathan would be suitable enough to take you if I asked it." The crew all paled at his answer, remembering just how their last meeting with the Leviathan went. Alfred laughed out.

"Oh man, good luck with that one, guys. I'm sure it'll be a hell of a trip."

"You're not coming with us?" Ludwig asked. Alfred shook his head.

"Isn't it obvious?" he turned to Ivan, "I'll tell you the same thing I told him. I didn't come all the way down here to find something so precious, only to lose it. I play for keeps. I'll be staying here to help these guys now." Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Um…" everyone turned to the sound, where Matthew was standing bashfully, "Actually, I was thinking that I would stay here too…" He clutched Kiku's hand for moral support, "I finally found someone who acknowledges me so… I wouldn't want to just leave after that…" Feliciano burst into tears.

"Oh everything is just working out so wonderful! We'll have to come back and visit sometime! Right, Ludwig? We have to!" he cried out.

"We'd have to be extremely careful… we wouldn't want to lead anyone here…" Arthur murmured.

"Oh please, you are one of the best and brightest when it comes to ships, mon ami. I'm sure that if we wanted to come back, you would be able to get us back here," Francis interjected. Arthur's face colored red, but for once, it wasn't out of anger.

"Well of course! Don't doubt my prowess for a minute, frog!" he shot back, trying to hide how unhinged he was.

"I'm sure you guys will figure something out," Alfred added in good naturedly.

"Yes, you all are welcome to come back any time, as long as you don't cause too much trouble…" Ivan fixed them all with cold stares that made them shiver.

"Of course not!" Feli squeaked. It took a couple of weeks for everything to get squared away. Everyone was given their own ceremony and their own crystal, as well as a nice share of gold that was still treasured in the city for their efforts. The crew all went back up to the surface via the Leviathan, which was quite a story in and of itself. No one would be able to get a straight story out of those that returned of what happened to the expedition, only that it was dangerous and that they didn't find Atlantis, and never planned on searching for it again.

Arthur was able to open up a book shop and get quite an extensive and valuable collection of books with his money, which made him smile to think it was making his old man turn in his grave over. He also decided to own a ship making company on the side, because he just couldn't stand to part with the nautical side of himself. Also, they would need a way to get back to Atlantis for visiting, of course.

Francis opened up a very successful chain of high end restaurants that became exceptionally popular on the national level. He proudly takes vacations to England whenever the mood strikes him, and the tabloids love to go wild with all sorts of fanciful stories about his personal life, though only because they've never been able to figure out who his real mysterious lover is, as he would never tell.

Feliciano returned to his family, where he decided to put most of his money into helping them out. He also rebuilt the ice cream shop that used to be beside it, in honor of it being the thing that got him into demolitions in the first place. He now owns and operates it separately from his family, and is also a very successful fireworks party planner, and is called on to shoot fireworks for all sorts of major events. He also bought a vacation home in Germany.

Ludwig was finally able to give his brother enough incentive to strike out and try to make it big doing his own thing after his little brother's success as a neurologist. He figured that his little brother was finally doing well enough without him that he could do his own thing. Of course, Ludwig is still plagued with frequent visits, but he secretly doesn't mind it all that much. Family is family after all. It's rumored he has a vacation home in Italy, but it hasn't been proven.

As for Matthew and Alfred, the look forward to the crew's annual visit every year, where they get stocked up on things from the surface (namely maple syrup and other such foods). For the rest of the time though, Alfred enjoys bonding with the people of Atlantis and learning all about its history and culture. His approval is so unanimous that he was meet with nothing but cheers when Ivan finally announced that the two of them would be married almost a year after Alfred's arrival there.

Matthew has taken on helping Yao and Kiku, and learning their trade as medicine men. He and Kiku can often be spotted having peaceful walks with each other through the city. As for Yao, he has his hands full keeping Ivan and Alfred in check, and frequently going with Alfred to discover lost pieces of Atlantis's past in the ruins, as Alfred is the only one that can read the ancient runes. Yao is content spending his time re-writing and keeping all of these documents, as it takes up most of his time. (He is lucky he has Kiku and Matthew around to remind him to eat and bathe).

And, after all is said and done, the crystal remains ever vigilant floating above the city, never to leave again, and blessing all with it's light.

* * *

><p>So what did you all think of it? I may or may not do a little epilogue thing... You know for Ivan and Alfred... I might... But anyways! This is it! I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it and seeing you all enjoy it! Thank you so much for all your support!<p> 


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